The Black Snow
by Icha
Summary: Black Snow epilogue. Bruce takes Diana to a small village to meet his old friend and spends a day in a remote area of Japan. And there’s the swords, the rain, and the wet kimono...Well…you know what they would do in addition to discussing the grandeur of
1. The Hut of Simplicity

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rated: K+  
**

_Summary: _

_A drug ring in Gotham has brought Batman and Wonder Woman to join forces with Dr. Light II and Katana in Japan. In doing so, they have to convince a former Yakuza godfather to help them._

_Disclaimer:_

_All heroes and heroines belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Djinn for the Karthene. Many thanks to Kyoko Kasshu Minamino and Athena Phoenix for beta reading, and to Lamont Mallory for input re: Dr. Light, Katana and Yakuza. I have tried to capture the beauty of Zen, meditation and Japan in this story. Nonetheless, I apologize if I made any mistakes or if my attempts have bored you with the rather slow pace of the first chapters. I promise more action in Chapter 5 and the rest. In continuation with 'Roses of Paradise', 'A Whale of a Tale', and 'Beneath the Gotham Moon'._

**Chapter 1. The Hut of Simplicity**

The sound of a giant bell spread through the stillness of the morning at _Junboku no koya – _The Hut of Simplicity. A bald monk firmly held a log and struck the bell steadily seven times, each strike sending a wave of harmony through the entire meditation complex. Seven o'clock in the morning. A little blue butterfly that had been hovering around the monk flew away to a magnolia tree, flapping its wings happily. A moment later it continued its journey from the white magnolia heading to a small crystal river, towards a small hut along the river.

Diana of Themyscira closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight touching her face. She smiled to the blue butterfly, still flapping the wings in the morning excitement. She raised her hands above her head, preparing for _Surya Namaskar_, Salute to the Sun, her silver vambraces glowing in the morning sun. She felt the exotic fabric of the _salwar_ (traditional Indian clothes for women) she wore, lightly flowing in the morning breeze. As she arched her body to greet Surya, she felt peace entering her body. She folded her body, fingers touching the ground. She then bent her knees, forming _Adho Mukha Shvanasana_, the Downward Dog position, and continued touching the ground with her whole body, greeting Prativi – the Earth.

She continued her movement, each time feeling the deep gratitude flowing in her body, in her veins. Though at the moment she was practicing Yoga, an ancient Indian tradition, she did not feel parted from her roots. In fact, as she greeted Surya, she felt that she also addressed Apollo. As she kissed Prativi, she also touched Mother Gaea, the Earth herself. _Everything is connected._

She had been staying at _Junboku no koya_ for almost three days. She arrived after lunch last Friday, flying directly from New York. Something had come up at the Embassy that required her immediate attention. Yet to her relief, Rachel and Jonah were able to handle the problems without her further intervention, so she managed to leave by lunchtime, a few hours later than she had planned. Her staff didn't ask her about her vacation plans when she told them that she had planned to take a few days off. They just assumed that she went away with none other than Bruce Wayne.

Diana smiled as she realized that Bruce had entered her mind silently (as always). She didn't do anything, just watching the thoughts of him coming and leaving her alone. Not even _he_ could interrupt her yoga session!

There was nothing wrong with him, or them, actually. The past two months had been very interesting for both of them. After their night together in Paradise Island, she and Bruce had revisited their previous 'we should stay friends' agreement. To both of their relief, they had agreed that life was too short to spend alone (yes, she was immortal, but that hadn't meant that she couldn't be killed).

Thus they started a weird but beautiful relationship. Weird, as she had to be careful not to expose Bruce's secret ID to the public. Also weird, as the public had noticed, that an intelligent ambassador like her would waste her time with a notorious playboy like Bruce Wayne. Or – to the superhero community – it was weird that a Wonder Woman who always spoke the truth was now often seen with the Batman, the World's Greatest Detective who always hid in the shadows, cloaked in secrecy.

But to her relief, their relationship was not that awkward for close friends who knew them both. Martian Manhunter understood completely when Diana explained their present commitment to him. J'onn J'onnz was a very dear teammate and friend; Diana felt that it was important for J'onn to know the truth. She knew that J'onn already knew about her and Bruce when the Martian contacted them during their weekend in Bali a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, she was relieved that he not only didn't mind, he actually also blessed them.

"Not everyone can touch the deepest side of him, Diana. I would support any woman that is able to see the true Bruce, and give him more light and hope he actually needs. And my happiness is doubled, my friend, as _you_ are actually the one."

J'onn peaceful tone and sincere smile beamed in Diana's mind. _What a dear friend_. She stretched her arms and legs to start _Virabadhrasana_, the Warrior Pose. Pictures of J'onn slowly drifted away from her mind.

J'onn was not the only one happy for them. Alfred Pennyworth was very, very pleased. Despite his strict demeanor of a trained English butler, he could not hide his enthusiasm. When Diana visited the Manor for dinner after the weekend in Bali, he already knew something had happened between his Master Bruce and Miss Diana. He was not surprised at all that Diana did not make any attempt to leave, long after the pecan pie was gone and the herbal tea cups were empty. When Bruce finally rose from his chair and left for his room, his hand holding Diana's, Alfred just murmured that some 'Martha' white roses were already in Bruce's room. Yet he could not refrain from whispering to Diana.

"Mrs. Wayne would be very happy to see you tonight with her son." Then, as nothing happened, the English butler just strolled back to the kitchen.

_Alfred... dear Alfred_. Diana smiled again, sending a warm wave of love to Bruce's surrogate father.

"I'm so happy for you, Miss Diana," he had said to her in the morning after breakfast.

"I'm very happy too, Alfred. For him." Diana gestured to Bruce who was reading the _Gotham Morning Herald_.

"Ah, then we are even, Miss. Then I shall be making you more wild berry pancakes the next time you have breakfast here."

Both of them had exchanged warm smiles. And then grinned in conspiracy as Bruce rose his head and asked, "What?..." absent-mindedly.

Diana switched to _Garudasana_, the Eagle Pose. Enough thinking about Bruce, or anyone related to him. _Now, it's just me_. So she ignored the flashes of Superman, Nightwing, Barbara Gordon, and even Lois Lane. Nothing was important right now.

Well, not really. In spite of J'onn, Alfred, Nightwing, and Barbara Gordon, not everyone understood why the ex-Princess of Themyscira would ever date the brooding Dark Knight. Superman was worried, and Diana understood why. Clark was afraid that Bruce would hurt Diana, his best friend. The same could not be said for Lois, though. In fact, the smart reporter was pretty happy for Diana. It was not of a real wonder anyway; Diana had had a hard time convincing Lois that she and Kal was nothing but true friends. The fact that Diana dated another guy actually relieved the reporter.

Other friends were cautious too. Aquaman looked a bit alarmed every time she met him during the League meetings. He had seen Batman and Wonder Woman together in an odd whale-stranding event in Bali. But unlike Cascade (the heroine from Indonesia) who was also there and seemed to be happy for them, Orin didn't look so happy. Zatanna already kept an eye on Diana as well, as if trying to say something. In addition, Black Canary beckoned her a few days ago to have a moment of girl talk. The topic was 'The Danger of Dating a Billionaire-Playboy-Hero' – with Dinah's own endless story with Green Arrow as the case study. Even Kara Zor-El called her from Paradise Island, asking bluntly if the gossips she had heard about Batman and Wonder Woman was true. _Great. Now I only have to wait for Artemis and Cassie questioning my private life._

So, both Diana and Bruce decided to minimize their personal interactions in front of the public for a while, just until the hero communities were more acclimated to their relationship, and Bruce were ready for a public acknowledgement of him dating the Amazon.

In fact Diana didn't care if many heroes talked about them (Wonder Woman vs. the Batman), but she was not a woman who would promote her personal relationship to every one either. In addition, Batman never liked PDA (public display of affections), so it was easy to maintain professionalism with the Caped Crusader. And although both of them were accustomed to gossip about their personal lives, Diana knew that they should be careful not to expose their relationship to everyone so soon. Bruce had many close friends to protect, such as Alfred, Leslie Thompson, and the entire Batclan. Diana had never wanted to cause trouble to those dear people, thus any link between Bruce Wayne and the Batman through Wonder Woman had better been avoided. Until both she and Bruce were ready for the consequences.

It was true that her girlish soul longed for a normal date with Bruce, out of the camera flashes of the Gotham reporters, out of the usual cave and League business. Just normal dates: dinner, walking in the park together, watching DVDs on the weekend, watching movies in the city. She had wanted to drag Bruce to watch 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith', eating the _ferrero rocher_ gelato ice cream together at the Napoli Gelatissimo, and other little nice things normal couples do. But she could not do that yet. Their short weekend in Bali was an exception; not many people know of Bruce Wayne in Indonesia, and they were not suspicious to see Batman and Wonder Woman together in Bali. But Gotham and New York were different. Both cities required patience.

So, despite her aching heart, she maintained her neutral camaraderie with the Batman. She debated him for 20 minutes at the Justice League meeting two weeks ago, about whether or not they should intervene with an increasing crisis in the Balkans. He criticized her for her decreasing attendance on monitor duties (_Hello...? There were some emergencies in my Embassy!_). She threw him hard during their last Aikido session, and he in turn locked her arms so tight she had to bang the floor in resignation.

But afterwards, after making sure no one was watching, they kissed. And made love. In her quarters at the Watchtower. In the Manor, after his nocturnal patrol. At the balcony of her suite at the Embassy, after she fought a hideous monster that had escaped from Tartarus.

So, yes... weird, but also beautiful_. Dysfunctional duo_, Clark commented. Diana treasured their very limited time together, and she knew Bruce did too. Sometimes she caught him just staring at her during dinners at the Manor. He then just shrugged and said, "...nothing! What?..." But she also caught him watching her sleeping – as sometimes she just awakened in the middle of the night. She also loved watching him sleeping. Studying his rugged jaw line lit by the moonlight. Tracing his numerous wounds with her fingers, and kissing them gently.

But she also treasured her time alone. She knew Bruce did too, as there were times he just needed to work alone undisturbed. She didn't mind. She recalled a very beautiful line by Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese poet that lived in the early 20th century. _Let there be spaces in your togetherness. For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow._

Indeed. In their love, they also needed space to be alone. And that's why she wasn't disappointed when Bruce refused to come with her to Japan. Bruce had a meeting with the Wayne Enterprise last Friday. Plus, the Batman was busy as well. She didn't quite know what happened. She only knew it had things to do with drugs (typically Gotham). She also knew that the Outsiders and the Titans had asked for his help for something. He didn't elaborate on those; it wasn't his habit, and he didn't have time. Diana didn't mind. She had a bunch of diplomatic paperwork she had to finish before taking her leave. She was tempted to go and help him, but Batman just rejected her offer.

"It's okay, we have plenty of men here," he explained through the communicator. "The work requires stealth, and we have not finished your uniform yet." Diana and Bruce had agreed to make a special uniform for her so that she could help him at nighttime in Gotham. "Just finish your homework and enjoy Japan."

So here she was, in a remote place in Japan. _Junboku no koya_ was a nice and serene meditation complex at the foot of Fujiyama, a few miles away from the closest and highest village in the mountain. She heard about this place from her friend at the Japan AIDS Foundation. Once a year Diana had a habit of visiting remote places to retreat into herself. She loved her home island, the Paradise Island. But she also loved to learn about new cultures and methods of self-exploration outside of her own culture. The last time she had gone on retreat, she had visited the monastery in Ladakh, in northern India (suggested by J'onn, the jolly green Buddha). Two years ago, she had visited a remote yoga center in New Zealand. This year she picked Japan.

So far she had learned to do yoga and tai chi (the latter taught by Batman). Now in Japan she wanted to learn more about Zen meditation. Upon opening herself to ancient Eastern traditions, she found that those traditions also appreciated Nature in a similar way to her ancient Greek tradition. By regarding humans as a small part of nature, the Eastern ways believed that instead of being the ruler of nature, human was actually very dependent on Nature herself, and thus should not taint the harmony and balance.

However, she also found that the basic beliefs of the Eastern traditions could also be very different from her beliefs. The ancient Greek believed that mankind was ruled by the Gods and Goddesses. In return, the decreased beliefs of humans in her deities had also decreased their power in this plane of reality.

In contrast, the Eastern belief regarded that the humanity has the power of choice. Humans can either maintain their limited understanding of nature, or even degrade into self-destructive creatures, or raise their awareness to embrace the Nature and expand the compassion that was always stored within their heart. That was Zen. It was everything, including the Life itself. It was basically the body and mind game. Overcome the body, ignore the mind, and you will rise above them. You will understand your true connection with the Nature.

Strangely, Diana could understand this. She had not made definite connections between Zen and her Hellenistic beliefs, but she had blurred pictures that slowly became clearer and clearer every time she joined the morning and evening meditation. _Everything is connected_. The stillness and peaceful feeling she experienced during her Zen sessions were the same as the sensations she felt every time she stood still by herself, and spoke to Mother Gaea. Gaea was there then; and the same Gaea was here as well.

Diana shifted into _Utkatasana_, the Chair Pose. Striving to tone her hamstrings, she realized that Bruce had slipped into her mind again. She trusted everything was all right with Batman. Her remote location would not hinder the JLA communication relay, and Alfred would've also called her if something went wrong. _Not to worry, Mother Gaea is protecting him._

She straightened her back, finishing the Chair Pose. Then she raised her right leg, bringing its sole to the top inside of her left thigh, and brought her palms together in front of her chest. _Vrikasana_, the Tree Pose. She loved this particular pose – making her serene and steady, and sometimes...bringing the feeling of a nymph enjoying the Apollo's sun.

She had just enjoyed a few moments of silence when she heard some footsteps from behind her. She was practicing at the backyard of her hut, facing the small crystal river that ran behind the hut. In her current position, she could not see her guest, but the slow, light, and steady steps were recognizable.

"Shizuka-san, ohayo gozaimasu."

A nun walked past and turned to face her. Shizuka was a nun in her 40's. She was wearing a grey Zen robe, her head was bald as other nuns and monks that took care of _Junboku no koya_. Her demeanor was as calm as her name. Shizuka means 'quiet' or 'peaceful'. She was not of striking beauty, but there was something inside her that made her face seem to beam all the time. Her eyes were serene, her smile was joyful.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Diana-san." Speaking in Japanese, she bowed to Diana. "Enjoying the yoga?"

"Yes, I am." Diana smiled, replying in Japanese as well. She didn't change her posture. Diana met Shizuka in her first evening here. At that time, she was also doing her yoga session. As she saw the nun for the first time, Diana immediately changed her posture and bowed to Shizuka. But the older woman just waved her hand to dismiss; saying that yoga was an attempt to achieve stillness, and her mere presence should not hinder Diana's effort. "This is a very peaceful morning." Diana continued, shifting her weight to maintain the tree pose.

"Yes, indeed." Shizuka's smile was enigmatic. "And will be very interesting, too. I've bought you a guest."

Diana raised her eyebrow. She wasn't expecting any companion. "Who would that be, Shizuka-san?"

Shizuka raised her hand to cover her laugh. "Ah, Diana-san! You are not going to believe who came to see you. It is Burusu-san!" She gestured to someone that apparently had been standing behind Diana for a while.

Maintaining her tree pose, Diana struggled to turn her head to see 'Burusu-san'. Her mouth dropped in disbelief. Behind her, stood Bruce Wayne, grinning at her.

"Hi, Princess!" the man approached her. "Glad to see me?"

Diana's foot dropped to the ground, her tree tumbling down.

_Author's note:_

_Okay... you will yell now, as I inserted too many Sanskrit words about yoga, and also lots of Zen philosophy. I guess this is what happened if a Pagan-New Age-Eastern tradition girl like me writing about Diana, who is also a Pagan and a New Ager. J'onn would fit much better in the story doing yoga, but hey... I'm writing Diana, not my dear Martian. So, again, I apologize for this. And perhaps some of you will question Kara's presence in Paradise Island. As far as I know, she has been staying in Diana's Island since her introduction to the superhero community (Superman/Batman: Supergirl), and seems to enjoy her stay there with the Amazons. Kara does have a grudge with Batman, though, as the Dark Knight and Superman keep 'spying' on the teen Kryptonian._


	2. A Missing Godfather

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rated: K+**

**Chapter 2. A Missing Godfather**

Bruce grinned to Diana. "Surprised to see me?" He carried a big backpack and wore a set of white _jinbei_ (modern adaptation of wrap-around kimono) and blue jeans.

_Hades, yes!_ "Umm... yeah... I thought you're on the..."

"The meeting in Tokyo finished earlier yesterday." He dropped his backpack and stretched his arms over his head. "But I had to check the Nikkei stock exchange until late last night. This morning, I thought I'd rather give you a surprise."

"Well...indeed you managed to surprise me. Wha-"

"Wait – " Bruce turned to Shizuka, who was obviously enjoying Diana's surprise. He bowed to the nun. "Arigato gozaimashita, Shizuka-san."

"Domo, domo, Burusu-san." Shizuka bowed back.

"Would you care to speak to Fugen-san about the matter?" he spoke in fluent Japanese.

"Hai. I will do my best." She replied, then walked away.

As Shizuka left, Diana turned to Bruce. Putting her hands on her hips, she asked, "What is this all about?"

"What? Can't I have a break after a hard day of meetings?" Bruce grinned again, sitting down on the grass, legs stretched out.

"I don't believe you." Diana grimaced. She sat as well, taking the half-lotus pose. "Seriously. What happened, Bruce? Aren't you supposed to have a meeting with Lucius, or doing something with the Outsiders?"

"Actually..." Bruce lay down on the grass, supporting his head with his hands. "...I'm here for the business."

"Lucius?"

"No, the other one."

"Outsiders? Titans?" Diana looked around, then added. "Come on, Bruce, there's no one around to hear. Like these monks care anyway about the Dark Knight. What happened?"

Bruce didn't answer right away. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on his face. Then he murmured, "I'm hungry. Left Gotham two hours ago; not eating since this morning. Well, Gotham's morning." He then opened his eyes, rolled to his side facing Diana, supporting his body with one hand. "Got something to eat?"

"You flew directly from Gotham just now?" So Bruce made up the Tokyo Nikkei story for Shizuka. Diana looked into the dark hue under Bruce's eyes. "How long did you sleep last night?"

"This morning, you mean?" Bruce yawned. "Three hours. Analyzed Nightwing's data. But I slept in the Batwing during the flight here."

"Come on then," Diana got up, grabbing Bruce's hand, "...I'll feed you. I suppose the nun already brought me breakfast. Then you can tell me what the business is, and then you can sleep."

They went to Diana's hut, leaving their footwear at the entrance. Every visitor in _Junboku no koya_ had his/her own bungalow, small and simple but very artistic, all covered with _tatami_ (Japanese rice straw) mats. The hut had one common room that served as the living room and dining room, one bedroom, and one semi-open bathroom, all in Japanese style. Diana especially loved the bathroom, semi-open air with arrays of rocks and plants inside to freshen the view. From the hut they could hear the sprinkling sound of the nearby small river running.

She sat at one of the pillows arranged surrounding a short Japanese table. On top of the table there were some Japanese cakes and a pot of green tea. During high seasons, the visitors usually gathered together in the common hall for meals. However, during her visit this time, Diana was the only visitor in addition to a couple of elderly Europeans, thus she could enjoy her meals alone in her hut. Yesterday,however,Diana brought her meals to the nuns' quarters and ate with them in an attempt to know them better.

"Try the _dora yaki_," she pushed some sweet bean pancakes to Bruce. "...or this _kabocha_ squash cake. I love them." She poured Bruce a cup of hot green tea. "But I'm sure you've had them when you were in Japan years ago."

Bruce just nodded, busily munching the pancake. "...Idid. But this one is good too." He ate in silence for a while. Diana took some cake and ate as well. She had not had the breakfast, it was not there yet when she woke up and freshened herself for the morning yoga session. Apparently another nun had come in when she was doing her yoga, and left the breakfast at the table.

Bruce suddenly stopped eating. "Is this food enough for both of us? I'musually not this hungry, but perhaps we should ask for more?"

Diana grinned. "Actually, they always give me large portions. One of the reasons I would like to join them for daily meals was that I don't want to waste too much food. But of course, I also want to talk with them, just have some conversation."

"They talked during the meals?" Bruce frowned, his hand reaching the _ohagi_, a sticky rice cake. "I thought that Zen monks and nuns don't talk during meals."

"Well, they usually eat in silence," Diana admitted. "They said it is part of 'present moment', that you should eat in silence and enjoy the food. It'sa bit different from the western culture but in between they also talked to me; and afterwards as well." She sipped her hot tea. "Now, are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

"There was this series of illegal drug operations in Gotham, New York City, and San Francisco," Bruce shifted into a better sitting position. "They both distributed a new kind of narcotics called 'Black Snow'. Targeting underage users, this drug had been found in the bodies of some teenagers in the three cities. Apparently, the Black Snow is a mixture of heroin, cocaine, and some new substances, and can have lethal effects in less than twelve hours of continuous use.

At first,I didn't know that those operations actually were connected until Nightwing contacted me to identify some of the crooks involved. Some of them are old 'friends', but some of them are new. There was this link between the three gangs; they both have frequent contacts with Yakuza in Japan."

Diana arched her eyebrow. "I thought the Japanese government had eliminated Yakuza."

"You think that annihilating mobsters like that is easy? Look at the Mafia in Italy, at the Triad in Hong Kong. Look at Gotham. These folks still exist and operate, no matter what I and the others try to do."

Diana understood that Batman's fight against crime was endless, similar to her own mission of eliminating hatred and bringing peace to the world. Sometimes she wondered why she, Batman, and the others still kept on going in spite of the continuous crime and hatred in the world.

Because we have to do what we can to stop them. The result does not matter, as long as we keep on trying.

"Then, why do you have to go to Japan yourself? I mean, can't you just contact...Kimiyo and ask her to deal with the problem?" Kimiyo Hoshi a.k.a. Dr. Light II was the famous Japanese heroine, also a reserve member of the Justice League. She chose Japan, especially Tokyo as her base of operation.

"Her expertise was not stalking mobsters and detecting underground movements. She was not the ... 'Japanese Batwoman' as she told me. She needed extra hands for this case."

Diana smiled to hear the 'Japanese Batwoman'. She admired Dr. Light and her work in Japan, as she was practically the only metahuman actively working to protect Japan at the moment. Katana, the other Japanese heroine, had chosen the United States and the Outsiders as her work place. Diana could imagine that Dr. Light would have her hands full handling Japan; not to mention that her two children.

"Have you talked to Tatsu?" Tatsu Yamashiro a.k.a. Katana was a former member of the Outsiders.

"Katana was the first person I consulted for this case," Bruce replied. "We both have talked to Dr. Light, and came to the same conclusion. We need to go to Japan to help her. At least by showing the evidence to the Japanese policemen that the Black Snow has entered the U.S., and tracking down the headquarter."

"Are these guys so secretive in their movements?" Diana mused, supporting her chin with one hand. "I mean, wouldn't the Tokyo police squad have detected anything by now?"

"They moved in separate cells, very hard to detect. They mostly export the Black Snow to other countries, like Europe, the U.S., Thailand and some other Asian countries. I could only detect their patterns after working for more than two weeks. And because these guys also operated in New York City and San Francisco, we then realized that we were actually dealing with the same organization."

"But you came alone here, and involved yourself in an international affair without Japan's formal invitation. That would not be wise."

"I don't want to use my international Justice League authority to talk with the government. Not yet – it's too early. Not enough evidence, despite the exposure of the operation in the U.S. I have Katana with me for the mission. She already arrived three days ago in Tokyo, and together with Dr. Light, has been communicating with their contacts at the national police headquarters and Interpol."

Diana nodded in agreement. Being members of the Justice League, she and Batman had the influence to negotiate with many national governments, should any events require them to. Being fluent in Japanese himself, Batman would not have any trouble communicating with Tokyo, despite the possibility that they would resent his appearance. However, because of Batman's appearance, it would be best to have a native Japanese approach the police about this case. In this case, Katana and Dr. Light would be the best choice.

"So...what actually brought you here? You don't actually come here to rest and monitor them from such a remote place? You could do that in your hotel room in Tokyo while at the same time monitoring your stock at the Nikkei stock exchange."

Bruce drank his green tea, leaning back against the bamboo wall. "The Yakuza gang used to be led by Iwamura Masahiro, their godfather for almost forty years. Masahiro retired three years ago, and left for a place no one knew of. Now his son, Suijiro, took his place as the new godfather. Although he was more ruthless than his father, the real power was actually still in Masahiro's hands. Katana's contact in Tokyo believed that if we could reach the former godfather and ask for his help in this case, the problem is 50 solved."

"Wait... wait... you said that the previous godfather retired? Or that he was gone? Disappeared? And no one knows of his whereabouts?"

"No one. Well, perhaps Suijiro knew. But we could not ask him about that, of course. Suijiro is an eel, very hard to catch. He has many methods of money laundering. His formal business is clean, of course, so the police could not sue him."

"Perhaps he killed his father? That happens often in such a world."

"No. It was positive. The underground news we had was clear; if Masahiro had been murdered by his own son, we would have known. This is not the case."

Diana studied Bruce's handsome but tired face. "I suppose you know where Masahiro is now, and you decided to track him."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Shizuka's head popped into the living room.

"Sumimasen, Diana-san." She bowed to Diana, then to Bruce. "Burusu-san, Fugen-san asked if you could have _chanoyu_ with him this afternoon?" _Chanoyu_ is the Japanese tea ceremony.

"Yes, that would be fine," Bruce replied in Japanese, bowing back to Shizuka. "Would I be able to take Diana-san as well?"

"Yes, of course. I will inform him that you and Diana-san will have tea with him at 3 o'clock this afternoon."

"Domo arigato gozaimashita." Bruce bowed again.

"Thank you, Shizuka-san." Diana also replied in Japanese. "And could you please bring a double lunch for us today? The normal portion, please, not the big lunch."

"I will surely do so," Shizuka bowed. She bade them good morning and excused herself.

"Who is this Fugen-san?" Shifting to English, Diana asked briefly.

"A monk who occasionally came here to have some time on his own. He doesn't stay permanently in one place; he's always traveling. I'm lucky to have him here this time."

"Why do you want to see him?"

"Let's just say... I have a hunch that he might be able to help me find Masahiro."

Diana studied Bruce; his expression was the Batman's.

"Your Fugen-san is Masahiro," she concluded.


	3. For the Love of Akoya

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rated: K+**

**Chapter 3. For the Love of Akoya**

Bruce looked back at her. "It wasn't easy to find out, but I have my theories and connections."

"Tell me. I have a few hours to listen to you." Diana lay down on the mat, hands supporting her head.

Bruce also adjusted his position. He had finished his meal, and now was feeling sleepy.

"Masahiro was a very famous Yakuza leader. He started his career almost forty years ago, when he was merely twenty years old. He was a very good gunfighter, but he was also a very talented swordsman. He started his carrier by killing twenty gunmen with only one gun and his katana – _mostly_ using the sword. He also had a good sense of business, thus he could build his own empire smoothly.

He has only two children, Suijiro and his daughter, Akoya. His wife died when Akoya was born. It was no secret that he treasured Akoya and established many measures to ensure her safety. Of the two children, people always wondered if Masahiro would choose Akoya over Suijiro, not only because she was his 'precious'; but she was also smarter than her brother.

Then something came up: three years ago, a mob incident happened in the middle of Tokyo. There, Akoya was killed. Apparently, Masahiro couldn't take it. He punished his men for failing to protect his daughter. But mostly, he blamed himself for his daughter's death. Soon after Akoya's burial, no one saw Masahiro anymore. It seemed that the godfather was taken by the Earth itself."

Silence. Diana just stared at the bamboo ceilings. "Tragic," she said finally. "Similar to the Godfather movie."

"Only here, the godfather himself was missing."

Diana shifted to her side to face Bruce, one hand propping her head. "How do you know that Fugen is Masahiro?"

"I had some friends during my stay in Japan years ago. Most of them are swordsman or martial art practitioners. I have contacted them these few days, trying to learn if they heard of Masahiro somewhere. Dr. Light already checked the Japan immigration office, in case the godfather had left the country under any disguise. I also checked the U.S. immigration. Apparently Masahiro is still in Japan somewhere."

"So some of your friends knew that Masahiro had changed his identity and hid in the mountains here."

"No, not changing his ID at all." Bruce sat on his knees with hisback straight. "He had left his old world and began a new life as a Buddhist priest. His new name, Fugen, means 'universal compassion'."

Diana blinked. "Why would he become a priest if not to hide from his true identity?"

"My guess is that he regretted his past life, and wanted to start all over again. So, yes, he drew back from the Yakuza business and all worldly life, but not because he wanted to hide."

"Your informants told you this?"

"Some of my old friends had become interested in spirituality themselves. They mentioned that they had met once or twice a 60-year-old man that had just became a monk, and wandered around Japan. To wander around Japan in these days as a non-allied monk, you either need to be very fit, or pretty rich to support yourself."

"Presuming that you are correct, how would you persuade Masahiro, I mean... Fugen to stop his son?" Staring at the ceiling, Diana bit her nails absent-mindedly. "He had left the Yakuza without closing the business down, so he would not have any intention to do that now. Plus, he wouldn't hand his own son to the government like that, would he?"

Bruce leaned back, scratching his chin. "I suppose he still has some sense of responsibility. Even solitary monks have their responsibilities to the world and would do anything in their capacity to make it a better place to live. I hope that Fugen could give us more information about the underground activities. Katana also hoped he would testify against Suijiro in front of the court," He leaned over to Diana, "That's why I need your help."

"You want me to talk to Fugen? But I've never met him before."

"But you are a diplomat, and – dare I say it - the spirit of truth. You can talk heart to heart and make him voluntarily help us, better than me. And to help you get to know him..." Bruce looked for his backpack, opened it and pulled out a paper case from inside, "...these are his files. Study it before our teatime with him. You can find stories of Akoya in there." Bruce stood up, stretched and walked into the bedroom. "May I sleep in your room?"

"Go ahead," Diana rose and joined him. "This is a new age meditation complex; they allow both married and unmarried couples to stay together, as long as the couple is really in love and has good spiritual intentions."

"Can they really tell that? Just by looking at the couples?" Bruce sat down at the mattress on the floor, ready to sleep.

"I suppose so. I understand that most of the western young couples that came here were either not married or just married, and usually seeking a blessing," She suddenly blushed. "What did you tell Shizuka? I mean, what of...us?"

Bruce looked at Diana. "I told her the truth," he finally answered. "That we are a couple."

Diana still blushed. "I...thought that you would say that we're just...friends."

Bruce smiled, reaching for her hands. "Why would I lie, Princess? They are monks and nuns; had I told them that I'm your business partner, they would have known the truth soon enough."

She beamed back at him. "Yet, I don't think that you would tell Fugen the whole truth? That you are the Batman from the Justice League seeking for his help?"

"No. I would say that I am Bruce Wayne from Gotham City who is very concerned about the increasing underground drug trade there, and had come to seek his help. And you are Wonder Woman of the Justice League who will help me in this mission. Does this work for you?"

"Yes, it works for me." She raised her hands, tracing Bruce's tired face. "Now, sleep. I will wake you up later."

Bruce took Diana's hand and kissed its back. He had missed Diana so much, yet something in this place made him wanted to show his love in more compassionate ways than kissing her lips (though he truly wanted to do so during his flight to Japan). He turned to the mattress, lay down, and drifted to sleep in five minutes.

Diana returned to the front room, examining Bruce's paperwork. She spent the rest of the morning reading Masahiro's files, trying to understand the man that used to be the top Yakuza leader.

Apparently, Masahiro used to be a ruthless Yakuza. His business used to range from casino, drug, legal and illegal weaponry as well as prostitution of children and women. When he was young, he could eliminate his enemies (both other Yakuza gang or policemen) in ways ranging from sending common threats, poisoning (via food, gas or other means), or killing them directly in front of the public. More than once he blew up offices just to get rid of one or two people inside. But he was also a clever man with lots of connections; he always managed to get away from custody and trials. The only trial he went through was when one of his men was arrested by the police and was offered asylum if he could testify against Masahiro. Masahiro escaped after the case was suddenly dropped due to 'lack of evidence'. His former man was found dead, and had hung himself two days after Masahiro's case was dropped.

Then Masahiro got married, and gradually his life changed. He still conducted dirty business, but not including children or women anymore. Apparently, his wife had played a major rule in his shift of behavior. Ayame was a gentle painter, and no one knew how she could fall in love with such a ruthless man like Masahiro. Yet for some reasons their love sustained. Ayame even gave birth to the rascal Suijiro and the lovely Akoya. She died two hours after her daughter was born.

Both of their children had inherited their talents in their own ways. Suijiro, mischievous as ever, had always showed interest in fighting and winning. He soon mastered the art of two swords when he was still very young. He also had a good sense of business and even politics. Akoya, on the other hand, was the blueprint of her mother. She joined the culture club in high school and continued to study classical and modern art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Soon, she proved herself as a talented painter, even more than Ayame herself. She was more interested in doing her own exhibitions rather than helping her father's 'business'.

The files mentioned that Masahiro purposely did not tell Akoya about his business . Thus, she grew into a young woman who adored her father who, outside of his Yakuza business, had been a good father indeed. Akoya had only found out about Masahiro's true color five years ago. Ever since then, she distanced herself from her father, after her attempts on dragging him out of illegal business had failed.

Although Akoya had already moved out of their mansion in the nice rural area near Tokyo, Masahiro still made sure that his daughter was safe from his enemies. Until one afternoon three years ago, when a brutal open fire incident between his Iwamura Yakuza and another gang took place in Shinjuku. Unknown to Masahiro, Akoya was in the vicinity, finishing shopping with her friends. Her two friends were shot and wounded. However, Akoya was the worst victim; one gunshot in her chest and one near her left kidney.

Masahiro was enraged; he flew directly from Yokohama where he had a meeting to Tokyo, only to find Akoya unconscious in the hospital bedroom. The doctors had given up on her, and were merely standing in fear of Masahiro's wrath. Akoya barely managed to open her eyes upon her father's arrival. She smiled, feeling Masahiro's sweaty hand holding hers, whispering, "...I'm sorry..." and passed away.

Masahiro's men never saw him as angry as that afternoon. He did not kill any of his men, only fired some of them. The files Diana read were a translation from the Tokyo police files, one of them describing the conviction of one of his former men (the police caught him later on the charge of killing civilians). Among others, this guy described what happened that day in the hospital; how he saw fire burning in Masahiro's eyes, a fire he had never seen in him before.

Diana could only conclude that Masahiro's 'fire' was more of hatred and anger towards himself. The godfather was completely silent a few days afterward, not even speaking to his son, Suijiro. He did not even speak during his daughter's funeral. A week later, no one saw him again in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan.

Diana sighed, arching her back to release the strain. Massaging her neck, she pulled out another file. Some photographs were of the young Masahiro himself (full of pride and cruelty) and the older Masahiro (very athletic in his 50's by the time the picture was taken). There were pictures of Suijiro, who was more arrogant and prideful than his father. Ayame; a small graceful woman with a hint of sadness in her eyes, and Akoya, a classical oriental beauty, taller than her mother, with long straight raven hair and bright eyes. The picture was taken during one of her painting exhibitions. She was so bright and full of life; with no resemblance of the daughter of a godfather. _And now she was dead while her father was here with us._

Diana felt very strange about this. She understood that the godfather must had been so sad upon Akoya's death that he chose to leave his business to Suijiro and vanish into the air. _But why did he not just go to jail if he was sorry? If the intention was to fix the right from wrong, why not turn himself in? If Bruce knew that Masahiro was here, why didn't he just attempt to put the godfather into jail himself or at least inform the policemen? _

She decided not to worry about it. Putting the files away, she walked outside the hut, and continued the yoga that was interrupted when Bruce arrived. Then she practiced Karthene, her ancient Greek form of tai chi. She concentrated her movements for an hour, sweating as she finished her yoga and karthene. Then she went to the bathroom, decidedly in need of another shower. She spent the rest of her morning reading her new book. _Totto-chan: A Little Girl by the Window_. The story of a rascal little girl and her kind and gentle headmaster during the World War II was a very nice story taken from personal experience of the writer; bringing a totally different feeling than Akoya's story.

At noon, another nun came bringing a tray of food for lunch. Diana had cancelled her morning and afternoon meditation schedules, as Bruce's case had drawn her attention. About the same time, Bruce woke up. With messy hair, he walked out of the bedroom, bowing to the nun. The nun smiled in return, and left.

"Do you want to take a shower first, or eat now?" Diana gestured to the meals at the table.

"Eat. I'm hungry again," Bruce grinned, walked to the bathroom to wash his face, and returned to Diana. Despite the pressures of the Black Snow case, he was relaxed. _Must have been the sleep. Or Diana. Or both. _He usually felt secure and at peace every time she was around, and he had grown accustomed to the feeling.

The vegetarian food was delicious. Vegetable _tempura, shiitake_ and cucumber rolls, sauté of _hijiki_ seaweed and hot rice. They talked of other things during the meal. Of Alfred, Dick and Barbara, of Ferdinand, the Minotaur, of both of their Cassandras; Cassie Sandsmark the Wonder Girl II and Cassandra Cain, the second Batgirl; of both of their doctor Leslies; Leslie Thompson of Gotham and Leslie Anderson of Dallas, of Wayne Enterprises and Themysciran Embassy and of the Justice League and the Batclan. But they did not voice any of their feelings. Only their eyes spoke to each other.

After lunch, Bruce excused himself for bath. He emerged from the bathroom in fresh mind, body and spirit; finding that the table was clean (Diana had taken away the plates to the kitchen), and that Diana was meditating in the corner. He smiled, and walked to the bedroom. He opened his laptop, put it on the table beside the bed, activated his comm. link, and started talking in a low voice with Katana in Tokyo. He felt a bit guilty in tainting the tranquility of this place with his activities, in dragging Diana into the Iwamura crime business. He had meant to leave Diana out of this, only contacting her if he really needed her presence, but then he found out that Masahiro had been visiting _Junboku no koya_, as the wandering monk Fugen. By mere chances, Diana was in the same place with Fugen. She was known for her diplomatic approaches and sincere understanding, so she would be able to help him. And he, the Batman, also missed her. So here he was, entering various pieces of information into his laptop, talking with Tatsu while another part of him was aware of Diana's silent presence. He was grateful of it.

Diana entered the room half an hour later. Sitting across the table, she supported her chin with one fist, watching Bruce typing.

"There's something weird about Akoya's death," she blurted out later on. "I'm sure you've noticed."

Bruce didn't stop typing. "Which one? About Suijiro?"

Diana nodded. "What happened to Suijiro the day Akoya died? As her brother, he should have known of her schedule – especially because Masahiro still kept many guards to watch over Akoya. How come Suijiro did not know of this, and let the gunfire incident happen?"

This time, Bruce stopped typing. He raised his hands, his fingers tracing his hair. "In the past, incidents like that _did_ happen, even with Masahiro and Suijiro in the middle of it. From this point, it was not so strange that an incident happened at the same place where Akoya was shopping. But – why was Akoya the only one killed? Her friends were wounded, but not as badly as she was. Yes, there is something fishy about this. And I bet Masahiro spotted this, too."

"You think that... Suijiro planned the incident to kill Akoya?" Diana slowly said, disbelieving her deduction. "But why would he kill his own sister?"

"_If_ he is Akoya's real brother, yes. Why would he?"

"You're saying that he is _not_ Akoya's brother? Then who is he?" Diana stopped, thinking. "Was Suijiro an illegitimate son of Masahiro?"

Bruce grimaced. "I found this out just now from Katana. She traced back Masahiro's old records. Apparently, before he met and married Ayame, Masahiro dated another woman, from whom Suijiro was born. This woman..." Bruce looked back to his laptop, "... Kayo, was disappointed that Masahiro did not want to marry her. She then dropped the baby Suijiro to an orphanage and killed herself. Later, when Masahiro married Ayame, his wife found out about this, and asked Masahiro to take Suijiro from the orphanage and acknowledge him as his heir."

"What a woman," Diana whispered. "So then she became Suijiro's official mother. But what is the reason of him hating Akoya then? I don't see Ayame as an unfair mother, based on Katana's findings."

"This is only my guess," Bruce stretched his back and sighed. "But perhaps Masahiro did not really love Kayo, nor Suijiro when he was born. Ayame was the only woman he loved, so he took Suijiro merely upon her request. His love of his son might have grown later. But Masahiro's love of Akoya was more than his love of Suijiro, though he never mistreated his son."

"You are usually right in your theories," Diana commented, drumming her nails on the table. "But Akoya was not interested in the whole Iwamura business. She should not be a threat to Suijiro. Why kill her?"

Bruce shrugged. "It might not be a 100 attempt for murder. He could use the situation to hurt Akoya. What I don't understand is why Masahiro did not punish Suijiro, or at least conduct any investigations if he suspected his son."

Biting her thumb, Diana replied, "Perhaps Masahiro, or Fugen, is the only one who can answer that."

A red light in Bruce's communicator blinked several times. He activated the device, finding Dr. Light in the other end. The Japanese astronomer-doctor greeted him in English briefly, and began talking with the Batman. Apparently she had found out that some packages of Black Snow would be dispatched tonight, and thought that this would be a good time to trap Iwamura Suijiro. Acknowledging her findings, Bruce also told Kimiyo the latest news from Katana.

"That bastard!" cried Kimiyo. "I bet he planned the gunfire incident and killed her sister intentionally! I saw Akoya years ago during one of her exhibitions. She was such a nice woman. She did not deserve this."

"It's just our guess, we have no evidence. Only Masahiro can confirm that," Bruce replied in his Batman voice.

"I don't think that he would. Hiding behind a monk's robe; sounds cowardly to me!" Kimiyo lowered her tone. "I also have other news, well, not really about the Black Snow. But it's bad for me."

"Tell me."

"It's my daughter, Imako." Kimiyo continued. "There was this flu spreading among her friends at school. She could not stop coughing and sneezing since last night, and her temperature is pretty high now. I might not be able to accompany you tonight if she has not recovered. But I will try my best."

"Don't worry, you have done your best. We will still keep you informed, even if you cannot make it."

"I will still try to come, Batman." Kimiyo stopped to speak with Yasu, her son, in Japanese. "And I have to go now. Yasu needs me. Don't forget the info; Suijiro is moving tonight."

"I will talk to Katana; we'll stand by. Good luck. Batman out."

Diana smiled. "Such a good mother. It must be hard to fight justice and look after two young children."

"She managed," Bruce shrugged, then looked into Diana's eyes. "You will manage."

She blushed, replying, "I know," in a girlish way. "I guess it's time to prepare ourselves for tea time. I presume you brought a proper outfit?"

Bruce arched his eyebrow. "Princess, I had stayed in Japan long enough when you were still playing with your pets in Themyscira." He dug his backpack, retrieving a set of Japanese clothes. He changed, wearing a set of bone white kimono, a deep blue _hakama_ (Japanese large pleated trousers) and a deep blue _jinbaori_ (Japanese vest). He even put a pair of _tabi_ socks to wear with his _tatami_ sandals.

He turned back to see Diana had also changed her _salwar_ into a nice _yukata_ (summer kimono). Her _yukata_ was made of fine cotton sateen, sea blue color with embroided baby pink lotus and fresh green lotus leaves. She also wore an ivory _obi_ (Japanese sash) with lotus patterns of the same color. She was so breezy and innocent in the garment that Bruce's jaw just dropped in awe for a while.

"What?" Looking at his expression, Diana could not help laughing. She tied her long raven hair into a ponytail and commented, "Never seen me in Japanese clothes before?" She actually wore _dogi_ (Japanese short kimono for martial practices) a couple of times during her Aikido sessions with Bruce.

"Not in a formal kimono," Bruce blushed a bit, as he just realized that he must have looked so stupid, looking at Diana like that. The color of her _yukata_ matched her eyes.

"I've never seen you in formal Japanese clothes either, outside of your Aikido uniform," Diana commented. "You should add a bat clan crest in your vest and a pair of swords." Particularly in the olden days, _mon,_ or the Japanese family crest, is usually sewn at the back of any Japanese outwears.

Bruce grinned. Actually, he wore a set of _dogi_ (Japanese uniform for martial artists) and a _hakama_ for Aikido sessions. But he never wore a formal clothing set, complete with the _jinbaori_. "I left my _katana_ and _wakizashi_ inside the Batwing. And I actually was very tempted to order the Bat _mon_. But I'm not foolish enough to reveal my secret identity here."

Diana laughed. "That would be very foolish, indeed. And I do have to say that you look exotic in that _hakama_."

Silence. Bruce reached for Diana's hands, bringing them to his lips. Kissing her slender fingers, he whispered, "Don't steal my line, Princess. I was the one who supposed to tell you that you look absolutely exotic in that kimono."

"I know," Diana simply smiled. She loved the exotic feeling of the kimono, and she knew that Bruce also thought the same. "And when are you going to tell me the other reason you came here?"

Bruce grinned. _Can't fool her, can I? _"Right now, actually." He looked deep into Diana's azure eyes. "I missed you."

"Likewise," Diana whispered, bringing her lips to Bruce's. They kissed, slowly and gently, enjoying the peaceful tendrils creeping on their bodies. Their kisses grew deeper, threatening their actual agenda that afternoon, until some footsteps were heard from outside.

"Shizuka," Diana let go, sighing, and then smiling. "We should continue sometime."

Bruce did not answer, just smirking and his eyes were sparkling. Diana checked her kimono, still tidy and intact (Bruce had been known to occasionally damage any clothing she wore during their 'activities'). Walking to the door, she checked her long ponytail and smiled to Shizuka who had just arrived at the door.

"Konnichiwa, Diana-san, Burusu-san," greeted the gentle nun. "I shall take you to the tea house now. Are you ready for the tea ceremony?"

"Yes, we are ready," Diana grabbed two pairs of sandals (hers and Bruce's) and walked out of the hut, followed by the uncanny Samurai-like Bruce Wayne.

_Author's note:_

_In this chapter you would have found a more relaxed Bruce than the usual stoic version of the Batman. I took the liberty to write him as such, as Bruce had grown accustomed to being around Diana, and thus lightened up a bit. Actually his behaviour like this was not solely my imagination. Some DC writers had depicted a more relaxed and considerate Bruce when he was around Diana, especially in the JLA arcs (Obsidian Age, Golden Perfect TPB, Rules of Engagement TPB, JLA#90) and old issues of Wonder Woman (Gods of Gotham, Who Was Donna Troy, etc)_

_Nonetheless, there are scenes in Chapter 4 and the rest that draw Bruce back to his stoic manners. I just hope I will blend the character appropriately with the rest of the story. _


	4. The Tea House

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rated: K+  
**

**Chapter 4. The Tea House**

_Charyō_, the teahouse, was located in the middle of the small pond in _Junboku no Koya._ Shizuka took Diana and Bruce there, passing through a nice Zen sand garden with rocks and delicate raked sand (usually the monks and the nuns were the one that raked the sand into many designs. Diana tried raking the sand yesterday, and concluded that it was not as easy as it seemed). They strolled along the small river, and then crossed it on a small wooden bridge. From afar they could hear the cicadas singing and the monks chanting the _Lotus__Sutra_. They could smell the fragrance of _jin-koh_ (agarwood) burned by the nuns, the very same ingredient used to perfume the garments of Hikaru Genji in _Genji Monogatari (the Tale of Genji),_ during the Heian period a thousand years ago. The tranquility brought a sense of wholeness to Diana.

She glanced at Bruce, and grinned to see him so out-of-place in this environment. There they were, the calm Shizuka walking with mindfulness and Diana the Amazon walking slowly with her _tatami_ sandals, both enjoying the scenery. But Bruce walked with determination and big paces (but slow, to accommodate Shizuka's steps), his back straight, eyes fixed forward. Even without the _katana_ (Japanese long sword) and _wakizashi_ (Japanese short sword), he looked exactly like a Samurai going to war, instead of going to have some tea with a monk. Well, a former-godfather monk.

When the small pond was within their sight, Shizuka suddenly stopped and turned back to the couple she escorted.

"Before you have your tea, may I share some words with you two?"

Diana arched her eyebrow. She looked at Bruce, who was already wearing his Batman expression. "Yes, I suppose we can," she decided to answer on behalf of Bruce. "What is it that you want to say, Shizuka-san?"

Shizuka didn't reply immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze to a bamboo bush near her, thinking.

"I was not so sure if this is a wise thing to say," she finally looked back to Diana. "But I have the feeling that you are here not only to enjoy the scenery with Fugen-san."

Diana blinked. She knew that Bruce would not answer the question. It was up to her now to play the part.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." She hated playing diplomat with the nun, but she had to.

Shizuka reached for Diana's hands, holding them, studying the silver vambrace (Diana usually wore it, even when wearing a kimono).

"You are Diana of Themyscira. Also known as Wonder Woman," the nun spoke clearly. It was not a surprise; Diana told her real name to the nuns and monks, and some of them also recognized her as Wonder Woman. Diana stood still, not knowing where the conversation was headed.

"You have been here for almost three days with us. Meditating, communing, raking sand..." Diana smiled at this. "But you never wanted to ask for an audience with Fugen-san. You might not even have been aware of his presence. Then Burusu-san came, and asked for the audience. And you went with him."

The nun let go of Diana's hands and took two steps away. "While I do not doubt the love between you two, and I sincerely hope you will always be happy, I doubt that you would like to see Fugen-san just for a cup of tea," Shizuka faced Bruce and Diana again.

"I think you want to get in touch with his past life," she concluded.

Diana could sense a slight change in Bruce's posture; he was getting ready. Was Shizuka a bodyguard of Fugen? At another time, she might have laughed at the thought. But at the moment she did not know what to say, except to be honest with the nun.

Diana looked again at Bruce. He nodded. She was the diplomat; he was the detective. This was a diplomat's job.

"We didn't come here to disturb the silent water," she looked into the nun's eyes. "We just need his help."

"I thought of that, too," Shizuka smiled, assuring Diana that she also wasn't intending to stir up anything. "Yet, Fugen-san and I have been friends since I met him almost three years ago. He didn't come here often, and when he did, we didn't talk much. But I understood that he regretted his past, and wanted to have a new life. It is not within my rights to tell him what to do with his life, nor what kind of redemption he must seek." She walked to Diana and Bruce, looking alternately at them.

"Punishment does not have to come in the form of confinement. He had done many things in the past. Now he regrets it, and wants to live a different life. What I'm asking of you is to be considerate of him."

Diana nodded in understanding.

"I do not know him well enough to comment at the moment, Shizuka-san. But I promise that I will try to be just. I am not a judge here, just someone who needs his help."

Shizuka bowed and said, "I am glad for this conversation," then resumed walking towards the pond. Bruce and Diana glanced at each other, and then followed the nun.

To get to the teahouse, the visitors needed to use a black wooden bridge. The teahouse looked like it was floating on the pool, surrounded by numerous pink lotuses. They could see a short table in the middle of _charyō_ with an elderly man sitting behind the table, gazing at the lotuses. From afar Diana could see the serenity in his face.

Hearing their approaching footsteps, the man stood up, and went to the bridge to welcome them. He was in his sixties, bald, wearing a simple black Zen robe. He was about the same height as Diana, and only a few inches shorter than Bruce. But his composure and presence made him as tall as the Dark 'Samurai'. This man was indeed a man of great influence.

He stood still in the middle of the bridge, spreading his warm smile to welcome the visitors. "Good afternoon. Welcome to our humble _charyō_. I trust that you are Bruce Wayne and Diana of Themyscira?"

To Diana's surprise, the elder spoke in fluent English. Realizing that Bruce wasn't surprised at all, Diana remembered that if the man was Fugen, he must've used a lot of English during his time as Masahiro.

"Yes, we are," She answered. "I suppose you are Fugen-san? Many thanks for allowing us to drink tea with you." The three of them bowed to Fugen, who bowed back to them.

"Fugen-san, I leave them with you," Shizuka said to Fugen. "Have a nice tea time," she added to Bruce and Diana, and left.

Fugen only smiled. He gestured to the teahouse, and led his visitors to the hut. They entered _charyō_, leaving their sandals outside (a gesture of leaving worldly problems outside), and sat on some pillows arranged surrounding the table. Fugen fixed his position, kneeled, then bowed again to the couple in front of him.

"I am very pleased to have new friends here today to drink tea with me," he spoke serenely. In turn, Diana and Bruce bowed as well; Bruce in a very samurai manner.

"We... are very pleased as well, Sir," Diana hoped that her tone was sincere enough. Adjusting her position, she added more confidently, "I have been staying here for three days, but have not yet had the opportunity to meet you."

There were three teacups at the table. Fugen filled all the cups with _macha_ (powdered green tea). He lifted a pot from the brazier, pouring hot water into his visitors' cups, adding, "This relaxing tea was produced by the villagers from this very own land."

Soft vapors rose from the hot green tea. It was summer in Japan, but the location of _Junboku no Koya_ made the weather feel like spring instead. The monk stirred the tea with the _chasen_ (swirl brush for tea ceremony), then bowed and gave a cup to Bruce (who bowed back) and to Diana (who also bowed, imitating Bruce).

Diana examined the cup. She knew little about the Japanese tea ceremony, but she knew that the basic philosophy was to enjoy everything from the teacup to the tea itself, from the flying bird nearby to the sunlight. The blue-green clay teacup was simple in its design.

"A beautiful teacup," Bruce said, to her surprise. She looked at him and saw that he had left his Batman demeanor behind, and looked somewhat relaxed. He even studied the teacup as if it was a renaissance sculpture molded by Botticelli.

"It was made by the local villagers as well," Fugen replied as he admired his own cup. "It is amazing that such beauty can be found in such a remote place as this, made by simple people."

Bruce held his teacup with his right hand, rotating it three times clockwise. Diana imitated his actions. He drank the tea slowly. The green tea was bitter, but refreshing. Diana also drank her own tea, enjoying the warmth.

For a while, no one spoke. Diana didn't know if Bruce's detective mind was working, but she saw that his expression was not the Batman's. She glanced at the tea hut. It was small, but the absence of walls made the hut seem large and integrated with the surroundings. She allowed herself to admire the lotuses floating nearby, before realized that there was a painting on the floor, next to Fugen.

Bruce also noticed the painting. He put down his half-empty cup, saying, "That is a beautiful painting."

Fugen smiled. He also put down his cup, took the painting from the floor, a parchment rather than a framed picture. He took a long look at it, and showed it to the couple. It was a painting of butterflies and _sakura_ (cherry blossoms). With one glance Bruce recognized Akoya's signature at the right bottom.

"I must say that the artist captured the beauty of sakura and the butterflies perfectly," Diana commented. She leaned over and tilted her head to have a better look at the painting.

Fugen handed the painting to Bruce. Diana shifted her position to him, admiring the soft brushes of a blue butterfly flying over a sakura flower. Again, to her surprise Bruce looked genuinely interested in the painting.

"A very nice mix of Japanese and Chinese style," he noted. "The artist did a good job."

Smiling within, Diana noticed that Bruce wanted to use the painting as a stepping-stone to open conversation about Akoya. It was not a detective behavior; it was a diplomatic approach. Or perhaps, sincere appreciation, judging from his look of interest and the fact that he didn't introduce the topic of Fugen's daughter. Diana doubted that it would be good to mention her right away; hence she was glad that Bruce seemed to be truly studying the art. She glanced at Fugen to see that the old monk only showed the admiration of the painting, without any hint of regret or sadness in his eyes. Could it be that they were wrong? That this person was not Masahiro? But why had Shizuka warned them?

Not knowing what else to say, Diana decided to talk about other things.

"So, you have been staying in this place for a while, Fugen-san?" She handed the painting back to Fugen.

"I just arrived a week ago," the old monk replied, carefully placing the painting next to him. "I used to come here often, but then southern Japan also attracted me, thus I spent a few months down there. And yourself? How do you like this place?"

"I found that my heart was captured by the beauty of this place," Diana answered honestly. "It was very serene and calm. Being here, one would feel that all of one's problems had vanished. Like there was nothing to be afraid of."

Fugen smiled, looking at his teacup again. "Yes, indeed. It is the feeling I truly treasure."

Diana shifted her position, thinking of what else to say. She began to regret letting Bruce drag her here. Now she just wanted to enjoy the tea, without having to dig information from the old monk sitting in front of him. She played with her teacup for a while. Her kimono sleeve was lifted, exposing her silver vambrace.

"You are Diana of Themyscira," Fugen suddenly spoke again, " – also known as Wonder Woman."

Diana was surprised, as she hadn't anticipated that a wandering monk would be aware of her existence. She looked at her vambrace, and to Fugen. _How did he..._

"I used to read news before I left for the monastery," Fugen explained. "I remembered watching the late news about some heroes saving Tokyo, years ago. I recalled that it was you and a bearded man with long hair. The...Aquaman?"

Diana understood that Fugen was referring to a fight she and Aquaman had with a monster in Tokyo, a long time ago. She nodded. "Yes, it was Aquaman and I."

"Ah, then it is a pleasure indeed to meet you, Wonder Woman," Fugen bowed to Diana. "You are also known for your mission of peace, and I am so fond of it. People have said that you have a lasso that could reveal the truth?"

"Yes, I do. I...actually brought the lasso with me. But of course I didn't bring it here." Why should she use it against an old monk? Even if he was a former Yakuza godfather.

"The Truth..." Fugen gazed at a lotus. "Well then. Shall I refill your cups again?"

"Yes, please," Bruce opened up to speak after a long silence. He wiped the part of the cup which his lips touched with the right hand, rotated the cup counterclockwise then returned it to Fugen. Again, Diana imitated his actions.

"You seem to be well acquainted with _chanoyu_, Bruce-san," Fugen commented as he lifted the teapot and poured hot water into Bruce's teacup. He stirred the macha, then returned the cup to Bruce. The monk then continued filling Diana's cup with more tea.

"I used to live in Japan several years ago. Being here actually reminded me of that time."

"Ah, that explains your expertise then. Your posture and demeanor truly spoke for you," Fugen looked into Bruce's eye. "Several years ago... you were very young then?"

Again, to Diana's surprise, Bruce chuckled. "I suppose so. I couldn't even believe how the time had gone by."

Fugen laughed quietly as well. "Yes, it is amazing, isn't it? To remember those old days, when you were young and made stupid mistakes..."

Diana shifted her position again, knowing that she had to start somewhere. "Fugen-san, I am interested in the beautiful painting. Who is this Akoya, the artist? She is indeed a very talented painter."

The old monk shifted to Diana. "She was one of the best this country had to offer in this century. I quote that from _Kateigaho_, our famous art magazine."

"Have you...ever met her?"

"I wish I had...but I was late. Too late to introduce myself to her," Diana noticed that sadness slowly clouded Fugen's serene face, and she realized that he was indeed Masahiro.

"I don't understand, Sir," she forced herself to speak. "You implied that you wanted to see and befriend her, but it was too late?"

Fugen traced the _sakura_ in the painting with his old fingers. "She...died three years ago. I failed to see her beforehand, and that had been my deepest regret," He raised his head. "Diana-san, you are such a beautiful soul, you would never regret anything in your life. As for this old monk, my ignorance has clouded me, and I failed to meet another beautiful soul like Akoya. The truth is so saddening."

"It is not true. I also have my regrets," Diana swallowed hard, trying to continue. "A lot of regrets."

"Do you?" Fugen studied Diana carefully. "You seem to be able to handle those quite well."

"I accepted them – there was no other way. Running is not the answer." Although Diana was speaking of her regrets in her own life, she couldn't help to think that she must've touched Fugen's sensitive issues.

"Ah, so true. Run as we like, the shadows of the past will still follow." Fugen shifted his attention to his teacup, grief clearly etched in his face.

"So, have you run before, Fugen-san?" Deciding to spark the conversation, Bruce spoke again, making Diana alarmed with this direct question. She realized that Fugen was Masahiro, but she still couldn't think of him as the Yakuza godfather. To her, Fugen and Masahiro were very different.

"Have you, Bruce-san?" Apparently Fugen wasn't insulted with the query, nor intended to be cynical by answering Bruce's question with another question.

"Many times," Bruce answered, looking directly at Fugen. "And it wasn't a pleasant experience."

"No, no...it wasn't pleasant at all." Fugen gazed at the hovering white clouds. Putting the teacup on the table, he continued, "We should have stayed instead and faced the consequences."

"Like...facing the consequences of not seeing Akoya while you actually could, Fugen-san?" Diana steeled herself to talk about the truth they were all avoiding. "Because at that time, there was no Fugen yet? Instead, there was only Iwamura Masahiro."

If Fugen was stunned by Diana's words, he didn't show it. Instead, he faced Diana and Bruce, shifting his position, straightening his back.

"So Shizuka was right. You were not here to have some tea with me." It wasn't an accusation – he simply stated a fact.

"I'm truly sorry," Diana felt very uncomfortable. "I do enjoy the tea and the surroundings. It's just that we need your help, and thus we have to disturb you."

"I'm not sure what an old monk like me can do for you. I have donated most of my savings to orphanages and other refuges. I can't think of anything a Wonder Woman could ask of me." It was true – Bruce had mentioned earlier that there were reasonable amounts of money given to some humanitarian institutions a few weeks after Masahiro's disappearance.

"Not from you, Fugen-san," Bruce jumped in again. "From Masahiro."

Fugen looked at Bruce, interested. "So, I have been found, at last. Intriguing," he then leaned back. "I would expect some Yakuza men coming for me, instead of two foreigners like you."

"We are not related to any Yakuza gang, I can assure you," Diana leaned forward to Fugen. "You know me, Fugen-san, though only from the news. I always try to speak the truth. Now, may I ask you to do the same for me?"

"Masahiro is dead now, Diana-san, only Fugen remains," Fugen's tired eyes looked directly into Diana's. "But I guess I still have to face the ghosts of Masahiro's past."

_Yes, you do. In fact, you probably have to go to jail for what you have done. But why do I pity you? Why do I understand that you are here as a monk, instead of in jail as a Yakuza? _

Diana wanted to say those words to Fugen. But instead, she restrained herself and only said, "The past is over; only the present remains. Now we would like you to save the future." She gestured to Bruce, who nodded.

"I was here on behalf of the citizens of Gotham, Fugen-san," Bruce settled in his seat, beginning to talk. "We have found some drug rings operating in three cities in the United States. Those rings are connected with the Iwamura clan here in Japan. The drug they trade is very dangerous, and we think it is important for Japan and the U.S. to solve this problem together. The drug is called _Kuroyuki_ - 'The Black Snow'. Masahiro might recognize that."

Fugen frowned. "_Kuroyuki_ was synthesized five years ago. The Iwamura planned to trade the drug, but then Masahiro cancelled it a year later, about four years ago. He thought of quitting the drug ring and started the better, cleaner business."

"I presume Akoya had contributed to his change of plan?" Having two separate alter egos, Bruce understood that it was very important to address Masahiro as a separate individual from Fugen.

"Yes. Masahiro had tried to convince his clan that quitting the business would not ruin the Iwamura Empire. For one year he had explored other businesses that would still keep the Iwamura high in the Nikkei index, but would be legal, and thus would win Akoya back." Fugen closed his eyes. "He was too late. Akoya died the day he had his final meeting."

Diana felt tears in her eyes. Blinking, she murmured, "I'm truly sorry..."

"That was Akoya's final words to Masahiro," Fugen gazed at the lotuses. "She was sorry, but Masahiro's regret was beyond measure." He blinked his eyes, letting go of the tears. "But, it was the past. Now...if Fugen could help the future, what can he do?"

"Tell us about Suijiro's movement, and how to bring him to justice," Bruce replied in Batman's tone. "It will also help the process if you could testify against him."

Fugen tilted his head to Bruce and smiled grimly. "For the exchange of my freedom, you ask me to testify against my son? I have lost a daughter, Bruce-san. I do not intend to lose my son."

Diana noticed that Fugen had merged again with Masahiro. She wasn't sure if this was a good sign.

"You have to do what is appropriate, Fugen-san. I'm sure that was what Buddha always said."

"For a Hellenist, your understanding of Zen is very good, Diana-san."

"Thank you. So you agree with me – about the truth."

"Yes. But you also should understand this: Suijiro is still my son – no matter what he did. I cannot stand and testify against him."

"Suijiro had taken many lives," Bruce interrupted. "Half of the Black Snow's victims are young women like Akoya. Many parents like you have grieved for their deaths. Do you still want to hide and let this pain go on? Can you still sleep after all this time?"

"He is my son! I cannot stand against him!"

Bruce clenched his jaw. So far he had been able to see Fugen as a different person from Masahiro. But now, the anger emerging from the old monk disturbed him. He opened his mouth to snap, but a flash of thought entered his mind.

"Ayame would understand if you delivered him. This is all about her, isn't it? Your former wife – you don't want to disappoint her. You have failed to protect Akoya, now if you let anyone hurt Suijiro, you fear Ayame wouldn't forgive you," Bruce bowed briefly, "Fugen-san, onegaishimasu! You are the Compassionate One. Don't let your mind cloud you."

Diana nodded in agreement. "Please, help us. Ayame would not blame you, I'm very sure of that."

Fugen said nothing, but raised his hands to cover his face. He wept silently.

"I'm so sorry..." he finally spoke. "I couldn't save her. And I couldn't save him too...I failed you..."

Diana realized that the old monk must have been addressing his words to Ayame. Slowly, she reached for Fugen, touching his robe silently.

"She would understand..."

Fugen lowered his hands, looking at Diana. "My wife had asked me to take care of our children. Akoya died because of me. Now, I can't even save Suijiro."

"Not from a lack of trying," Bruce spoke again. "You had asked him to stop this after Akoya's death. When he refused, you couldn't do anything but resign. In fact, you could have stopped it right there, handing him – and yourself – over to the police. But you didn't do that. You chose to leave him with the Iwamura business, even though you knew what he did."

Fugen said nothing. He sat still, fully realizing what would happen next.

Bruce leaned forward to Fugen. "You know he was responsible for Akoya's death. But you couldn't do anything, because you had promised your wife that you would take care of both Suijiro and Akoya."

A sudden wind blew across the pond. The old monk sighed wearily, wrapping his Zen robe closer to his body, taking care of his painting so it wouldn't be blown by the wind.

"You must be a detective back in Gotham, Bruce-san, or a policeman. You are very direct. I suppose you have read all of the Iwamura files, then, but still cannot catch Suijiro?"

"We need your help. That's why I dragged Diana here. It was a mere coincidence that she was here in the same place with you."

"I cannot give you an answer now. I need more time to contemplate this."

Bruce nodded. "Understood. We will wait."

"Thank you for your understanding," Fugen bowed to Bruce and Diana, regaining his serenity. The couple bowed back.

"We still need to go inside of the headquarters for some evidence," Bruce added. "Could you enlighten us?"

Chuckling, Fugen answered. "If I were enlightened before, Masahiro wouldn't exist. There would be only Fugen, ever, until he fades away." The old monk shifted to Diana, studying her yukata.

"You are very comfortable in that yukata, Diana-san. Have you worn a kimono before?"

"Yes, but only the modified, not the formal one. Actually this is my first time wearing a formal yukata," Diana admitted. "It is very beautiful, that's why I feel very comfortable."

"Is that so? Amazing..." Fugen leaned forward. "If you would like to shop for more kimonos, I would suggest you go to Ginza in Tokyo. There is a nice department store there, Eiga, selling elegant kimonos for all seasons. I am sure they will find some nice ones for you."

The last thing Diana thought about at the moment was shopping in Ginza. She opened her mouth to question the relevance of kimonos and the Black Snow, but she noticed that Bruce just nodded slightly. _By Hera, what – _

"I will take her there once we are in Tokyo, Sir. Thank you." Bruce bowed, seemingly happy to take her shopping. Diana's jaw still dropped in disbelief. _When will –_

"Her complexion is not as fair as the Japanese, but her hair covers it. Many colors would suit Diana-san for her kimono," Fugen replied, as if he was a designer giving advice to Bruce about what kind of kimono he should buy for Diana. He switched to Diana, examining her blue sateen kimono with lotus patterns.

"Go to the first floor. Look for Lady Miyako's kimono. They will have it in stock, though it might not be on display in the shop. Ask for the sample from the storage."

_Lady Miyako – what?_

"We will do so. Thank you very much." Bruce bowed. Diana blinked. _Great Gaea – now I get it!_

She bowed as well to Fugen. "We are truly thankful for your help."

"We should go now. I will contact you later for your help, Fugen-san."

"I will be here – I will not run."

Bruce smirked, bowed to leave, but then remembered another thing. "The painting is really a masterpiece. You should be careful with the weather here, though. It might destroy the parchment if you don't protect it."

Reaching for Akoya's painting, Fugen smiled. "I always put it inside a vacuum tube to protect it. I didn't want to frame it, as it would restrict me from carrying it with me. Akoya painted it for me the last spring before she...left for good. In fact, she painted the sakura that grew in this very land over there," he gestured to a group of flowerless cherry tree in the far side of the complex. "Once I knew where she made her last painting, I went here. That was the day Masahiro died, and Fugen was born."

"I understand that sakura only grow for a few days during the early spring, and then lose their blossoms again, waiting for the next spring to bloom. Such a rare beauty," Diana whispered, almost to herself.

"Indeed," Fugen rolled Akoya's painting, inserting it into a tube. "But that is exactly the reason not to waste the beauty for something else less meaningful. I was late in realizing it, and I have regretted that." He then alternately faced Diana and Bruce.

"I understand that both of you share the same beauty. It does not matter if it is a very short beauty, or a long lifetime one. It depends on us – if we treasure it and live moment to moment with gratitude, then the short-time beauty would be an eternal beauty. Embrace it, never let it go."

Now Bruce swallowed, striving to say something. Finally he just bowed, "Thank you for your advice."

"Yes, thank you very much."

"Take it from someone who regrets his past life," Fugen smiled. Then he rose, escorting his guests to the bridge, and went back to sit in a full-lotus position. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun caressing his face. When his visitors turned back to see him from the other end of the bridge, he had slipped into an ocean of tranquility.


	5. Lady Miyako's Kimono

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rate: K+**

_Disclaimer: All heroes and heroines belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks for Athena Phoenix and Kyoko Kasshu Minamino for beta readings._

**Chapter 5. Lady Miyako's Kimono**

Diana once heard that Ginza was 'the shopping Mecca of Japan'. The statement wasn't exaggerated – the district was truly the shopping heaven of Tokyo where anyone could find almost anything they were looking for, from a delicate antique kimono to the latest PDA model. Formerly part of the ocean and built in the early 17th century, Ginza is one of the oldest districts in Tokyo. This area experienced a major earthquake in 1923 as well as damage during World War II. Yet, despite all those events, all of the buildings in Ginza are as glorious as ever, with the blends of modern and retro arts, art nouveau, art deco, and Japanese classic architecture. Nowadays, the visitors always enjoy coming to Ginza – even if tracing Yakuza activities is their primary purpose.

Right now the Amazon stood at the pedestal of Harumi-dori Avenue in front of Eiga Department Store, one of the most magnificent stores she had ever seen ('Eiga' means splendour, majesty or luxury). Not that New York lacked luxurious places to visit – her role as an ambassador and public figure required her to routinely explore Madison Avenue and Soho for appropriate haute couture (or else Cassie – as well as Donna in the past – would make a long night's discussion about the importance of fashion for Madam Ambassador). But Ginza was different. Perhaps because this was Tokyo, Japan. Perhaps because of the bright oriental colors she enjoyed in every corners of Ginza. Perhaps because there was no Kabukiza (Kabuki Theater) in New York, unlike the one across Eiga she'd been contemplating at while waiting for Tatsu. There was a Kabuki show that night, and now many people in colorful Japanese traditional clothes just walked into the theater, some of them carrying large bento dinner boxes they bought from food stalls nearby.

Kicking some decorated pebbles on the pedestal with her crème Prada suede boots, her hands sinking in her expensive red Donna Karan coat, she scanned the vicinity for Katana, who had told them earlier that she would be late by 10-15 minutes. Diana sighed. She disliked detective work; it was Bruce's territory. But Batman had made it clear that Bruce Wayne wouldn't appear in Ginza to retrieve any information from possible Yakuza personnel, so Ms. Diana Prince would have to be the one who did that.

When Diana objected, stating that some of them would surely watch the news and would recognize Diana of Themyscira instead of Diana Prince, Bruce just dragged her to Matsuya Department Store nearby and bought her the expensive boots, coat, a crisp white cotton Oscar de la Renta embroidered dress, a luxurious Louis Vuitton red and crème handbag, and a nice pair of De Rigo spectacles. Bruce also bought some other things that Diana didn't want to know about. They went shopping five minutes after they arrived in Bruce's suite in the Seiyo Hotel, which happened to be in Ginza as well. Then, after the great shopping session, they returned to the suite. Following a quick shower and meal, Bruce showed Diana how to do her hair stylishly with the faux hair and pins he had bought beforehand. As they finished, Diana felt like a Hollywood star from the 60s. Gone was her long raven hair – the mirror showed a blonde bespectacled Marilyn Monroe look-alike, her hair tied with a wine-colored silk Hermès scarf.

"Blonde! Why blonde! Why not RED, instead!" She couldn't help screaming when Bruce gave her the wig earlier.

"Because I picked the wig, not you," Bruce smirked. "And the red hair won't suit your blue eyes."

"Then buy me the green contact lenses!" Diana rolled her eyes, still not believing that she had let him do this to her.

"But you like the boots," Bruce shrugged, commenting matter-of-factly.

"What does it have to do with the hair? Why didn't you make me Jackie Kennedy, instead of Marilyn Monroe?"

"You have problems with blonde?"

"No. Just have problems with being Ms. Monroe, that's all."

"Okay, next time you'll be Ms. Grace Kelly," Bruce couldn't help grinning again.

"Bruce..." Diana swayed between hitting or kissing him, "both are _dead_ already."

"That's why we can imitate them!"

Diana kicked the pebbles again, cursing Bruce Wayne who made her feel like a novice trying to be a detective here. It might be his revenge, as back in Junboku no Koya he really had to play diplomat (which he did pretty well), instead of being a detective. But she also knew that Bruce didn't just sit nicely in their suite in Seiyo, six blocks away from Eiga. She looked at the tall building next to Eiga, her hunter's eyes capturing a shadowy figure lurking in the dark.

Yes. Bruce – or rather, Batman, was here as well with her.

"Diana, Katana is coming," She heard Batman's voice in her star-earrings commlink.

The good thing about her fancy earrings was that they also served as communication device, so Bruce didn't have to replace them with Audrey Hepburn earrings or whatever crossed his mind. She also wore a silver necklace with pendant that resembled a bat with overlaid W eagle. It was actually an audio-visual recorder that Bruce gave her the last minute before she left for Eiga.

Diana looked around, spotting a longhaired Japanese woman approaching. "Copy that."

Turning to face the woman, she smiled to welcome Tatsu Yamashiro. "Hello, Tatsu, how are you? It's been a while since our last meeting."

The woman smiled, "As fine as I can be while on business like this. How's Junboku no Koya?"

"Fine. Could be better if there's no case, but I'm glad to offer a hand here. Have you been in Junboku no Koya before?"

"Not yet. I should, someday – I keep promising myself." Tatsu tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Diana remembered that Tatsu used to have short hair a la Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Her long hair might indicate that they hadn't met for quite a while, or that Tatsu wore faux hair as well.

"Nice wig, by the way," Diana commented, testing her assumption.

"Likewise," Tatsu glanced at Diana's blonde hair. "Nice Monroe style. Bruce bought that for you?"

Diana grinned. "How did you know?"

"Because no way in heaven you would choose such a model, even for an undercover job." Tatsu turned to the tall building, recognizing a flip of a cape, and smirked. "Next time, don't let him choose the style."

"He told me that it would make me unrecognizable. I see that you also followed his advice," Diana glanced at Tatsu's long hair, expensive Kenzo suit, and black Gucci handbag.

"Dressed for the occasion. I'm a rich Japanese business woman here," Tatsu shrugged. She tapped her dragon earrings ('Tatsu' means 'dragon' in Japanese), which apparently functioned as commlinks as well. "B, don't forget to collect my bag, okay?"

"Acknowledged," She heard the terse Bat voice.

"He better be careful with Soultaker," Tatsu faced Diana again. Soultaker was Katana's precious _katana_ – Japanese long sword. Based on their communications during the brief break in Seiyo, Bruce asked both Tatsu and Diana to leave all their weapons behind, telling them that he would keep them safe for later encounters. It was a hard thing for both women not to bring any weapons at all, but they understood that it was important to gain trust from whoever they were going to meet. Also, they realized that actually the greatest task fell onto Batman to retain both Soultaker (a sword that could and had trapped the souls of the ones killed by its blade) and the Lasso of Truth. Only a strong-minded person like the Batman could be trusted with such arms; thus both Diana and Tatsu had entrusted their weapons to him.

Both of them watched as the shadow above the tall building disappeared – Batman had left to collect Katana's weapons and armor.

"Where did you leave your bag?" Diana turned to Tatsu.

"In the alley behind Matsuzakaya." Tatsu turned her attention back to the street in front of them, to the people in bright kimonos entering the Kabukiza.

"Is that safe?" Diana's eyes widened. She had dropped or lost her lasso several times during battles, but never on purpose.

"Not many people go there, and I just left it five minutes ago. Ah..." Tatsu suddenly closed her eyes. "He got it already."

"You can tell that through your Soultaker?"

"Yes. I presume that you can also feel your Lasso of Truth? Its presence?"

"Yes," Diana nodded. "But I couldn't leave it just like that in an alley. I'm amazed at you."

"Well, not that I can bring it here and hand it over to him just like that," Tatsu grinned. "Besides, he's the Batman. If we can't trust him, we can't trust anyone."

Diana nodded in agreement. She understood that Katana and Batman had been friends for a long time, since they formed the original Outsiders years ago. She also understood that Tatsu knew Batman as Bruce Wayne, thus she wasn't surprised when Tatsu called him by his real name. The Japanese woman didn't even show any sign of surprise when she learned that Wonder Woman had joined them for the Black Snow case, or that Bruce and Diana stayed in Seiyo together. Diana liked Katana, a true martial artist that had even rivaled Lady Shiva. Katana's blessing on their relationship and her aid had relieved her concerns.

"Bag attained," Batman's voice entered both of their commlinks.

"Thank you, Batman," Diana answered this time. "Katana and Wonder Woman out."

"Happy shopping." His curt reply made her smile.

Suddenly, bells chimed eight times throughout Ginza. Diana knew it was the sound of the giant clock of the Wako Building at Ginza-dori Avenue a few blocks away.

She turned to Tatsu. "Shall we?"

Tatsu nodded. "I'm Kawaguchi Hanako, by the way. I'm your business counterpart in Japan. And you are..."

"Ah. Diana Prince," Diana smirked, remembering her not-so-fake name. "From Gotham City, U.S."

Both women entered the luxurious Eiga, whose art deco structure was very different from the traditional Japanese Kabukiza. Diana reached for her necklace, tapping its pendant to activate the device. She only wore her basic red and blue costume beneath her dress, plus her star earrings and the bat-eagle necklace. She wore none of her weapons at all; her tiara, breastplate, lasso, girdle, vambrace, and boots were inside a bag Batman had been carrying. She knew that Katana also dropped all her costume, as Katana's Japanese armor was thicker and harder to disguise than hers. Should anything happen inside Eiga, their only defenses were their martial arts techniques and their abilities to seize the opponents' swords or guns for their protection.

Eiga wasn't the biggest department store in Ginza, compared to Matsuya for example, but it was indeed luxurious. Golden, silver, and bright primary colors brightened the cosmetics and perfume sections on the first floor. A sudden attack of fragrance of Chanel, Paco Rabanne, Karl Lagerfeld, and Elizabeth Arden made Diana dizzy. She never liked wearing perfume; she never wore perfume (not that she ever needed it), and she always managed to escape from any salesgirls' attempts to make her try and buy any kind of fragrance. This time though, she had to be patient while asking for directions to the kimono section, as apparently the only salesgirl available for information was at the Calvin Klein fragrance booth (other girls were preoccupied with other customers – it was a busy night), and she was very keen on testing her new Eternity Summer on Diana.

After a solid five minutes' talk with the salesgirl and letting her spray the fragrance on her wrists, Diana gladly left the perfume section with Tatsu, emanating the fragrance of jasmine, gardenia, lotus, and mimosa.

"You smell like a florist," Tatsu sniffed and grinned.

"Yeah, that's why B never put on any perfume at all. It left marks for the enemies to trace back," Diana smirked. Arriving at a huge eastern section, she sighed in relief and admiration. "We're here."

Impressive. That was the word for the kimono section of Eiga, which was separated from the rest of the department store with glass walls. Diana had never seen so many kimonos of various colors, patterns, and fabrics in a relatively small place, and for a while she even forgot her true purpose of coming here.

Lots and lots of kimonos were hanging on the racks, some also worn by the mannequins. They were divided by the seasons, age of customers, and use. As it was summer, most of them were bright colors or pastels, with cheerful patterns of leaves, flowers, fishes, dragons, clouds, and so on. Some autumn and winter kimonos were on sale, most of them with darker and calmer colors. Some collections were made of sateen and polyester or even high quality cotton, but many of them were also made of the best Japanese fine silk from the techniques that had been developed more than a thousand years ago. Such kimonos commanded a high price – even higher than the dress Diana was wearing.

Tatsu sighed. "It was like a mini Matsuzakaya here..." Matsuzakaya was the biggest Japanese kimono franchise in Ginza, perhaps also in the whole of Japan.

Diana nodded, touching the hand of a silk bamboo-patterned black kimono nearby. She almost believed that Lady Miyako's kimono actually existed, and was not just a secret Yakuza code. _I guess every girl has her own weakness._ They were not the only women amazed by the kimono display there. Two other young women and an elderly woman (their mother, perhaps) were gasping and sighing in awe.

"May I help you, ladies?" a cheerful Japanese voice greeted them. Tatsu and Diana turned to see a sweet Japanese salesgirl wearing a lemon-green sateen kimono with plum patterns.

"We would like to look at some kimonos," Tatsu answered in Japanese.

"With pleasure, I shall help you to choose," the girl bowed and walked to a rack full of summer kimonos for young women. She took out an indigo silk kimono with embroidered _koi_ fishes and cranes, handing it over to Tatsu.

"This kimono color suits you, Madam. It just arrived yesterday," she said cheerfully. Taking another kimono (deep violet with pink sakura and golden butterflies), she faced Diana.

"This one is perfect for you, Madam. Your hair color blends well with the butterflies."

Looking at the kimono, Diana smiled. It was truly a beautiful kimono, and if she weren't here for a case, she would just go to the fitting room to try it. She gestured to Tatsu to begin the mission. She wasn't a shopaholic _per se_, but she did have a weakness for exotic clothes (Aphrodite knew how much she spent for those Thai silk sarongs and Indian sari a while ago!). Tatsu nodded.

"Those are beautiful, thank you. But my friend and I are looking for Lady Miyako's kimono. I believe you still have it in stock?"

The cheerful girl suddenly blinked nervously. "I'm afraid we don't have such a kimono in our collection, Ma'am."

"Ah, but I'm sure you do," Tatsu spoke matter-of-factly. "Just check in the back at the storage, or ask your supervisor."

The girl nodded hastily, then went to the cashier station to speak with an older woman wearing a leaf-patterned mustard kimono, who nodded several times. The older woman then walked to Diana and Tatsu, bowing and smiling.

"I understand that you ladies are looking for Lady Miyako's kimono?"

"Yes," Tatsu confirmed. "I believe you still have it stocked, though it might be out of season."

"It is a rare hand-made kimono, I must say, and very expensive as well. We don't usually take it out just for show. Might I know the level of your interest?"

Tatsu gestured to Diana, who nodded and opened her Louis Vuitton bag. Inside were several bunches of dollars neatly tied and arranged to fit her bag (the woman had noticed that it was an _expensive_ bag). Diana remembered what Bruce said earlier. _They pay more respect to your wealth. So we play by their game_. She was glad that she decided to take the money despite her previous hesitation. She was satisfied to see the woman's eyes widen in awe.

"Very well, then. I might be able to take you downstairs myself. May I inquire your names, please?"

"I'm Kawaguchi Hanako, and this is my associate from Gotham City, Ms. Diana Prince."

The woman bowed and excused herself to the cashier station. She made a brief phone call, and then came back to her guests.

"This way, please," she gestured for Diana and Tatsu to follow her. They walked out of the kimono section toward women's accessories. She took them behind a piece of protruding wall with a large poster of two girls with stylish summer hats and stopped. There was a black curtain there that she swept aside while gesturing for her visitors to enter. As she closed the curtain, she walked a few paces to a metal door with numbers and characters and a small screen. She entered a combination of numbers and pressed her right palm on the screen. The door opened briefly while the three women entered the room behind the door.

Diana and Tatsu were 'welcomed' by two men and two women, all dressed in black. One man and one woman dressed in all black kimono and hakama, carrying katana. The other two obviously carried guns in their belts. Their stoic expressions warned both women that they indeed had found 'Lady Miyako's kimono'.

Their 'lady-escort' bowed to the four men and women. "This is Kawaguchi Hanako and Ms. Diana Prince of the Gotham City. I shall leave them with you now."

As the four bowed back, the woman turned and left the room. Soon, Diana and Tatsu were circled by the four men and women.

"So you are here for Lady Miyako's kimono?" The woman in black Japanese clothes asked briskly in Japanese.

"More of the Black Snow, actually," Tatsu answered. "This is my associate from Gotham, would like to talk about the future works in her city."

The man in hakama nodded and gestured to his friends. "Search!"

The two women in black quickly searched Diana and Tatsu for any guns and other weapons. The woman in hakama opened Diana's handbag, not showing any expression upon seeing the amount of money she brought. The woman also studied Diana's passport (blonde bespectacled 'Diana Prince' – Bruce had made the passport way back in Gotham just in case, and attached the photograph right after Diana put her wig on). The other woman dug Tatsu's bag, retrieving her wallet, examining her longhaired photograph and 'Kawaguchi Hanako's' Citibank Platinum credit card. Diana's examiner also took a glance at her pendant, but in an interested way, not out of suspicion.

Satisfied that both visitors were clean, the two women in black nodded to their leader.

"I'll take you to our leader now. Follow me." The leader gestured to Tatsu and Diana, then walked to another door. He punched a code, pressing his palm onto a small screen, then the door opened in a silence, revealing a big elevator. The six men and women entered the elevator. The man in hakama pushed a button, making the compartment moving downwards.

They were going underground, below Ginza. During the short trip, Diana slipped into the 'Bat' mode of heightened awareness. She was getting ready, and she knew Tatsu was too. She knew that Batman had been following the whole scene through her pendant, and she had to restrain herself not to check if the pendant was still working.

Soon, the elevator reached its destination. The fancy door opened again in silence, and all of its passengers went out in steady steps. The man in hakama took Tatsu and Diana down a long corridor towards another metal door. He punched another code, and the door opened.

Behind the door, there were many people dressed in white working on certain emulsions, extracting some white powders, and packaging the powders into small plastic bags. There were several more people in black, some in hakama and some others in modern clothes, all holding either katana or guns. The man in hakama who escorted Diana and Tatsu walked to a tall man, who wore hakama, kimono, and jinbaori with a typical mon embroidered behind it. After they talked for a while, the man in jinbaori turned and walked to Diana and Tatsu.

"Welcome to Black Snow's lair," he bowed.

_Author's note:_

_Thanks to Sandicomm for New York tips! Re: Katana, I wasn't sure if she actually knew that Bruce Wayne was the Batman. But as they had been working together in the Outsiders for a long time, I assumed that Tatsu knew Batman's real persona. And Tatsu's sensitivity to Soultaker is only my theory. Re: Ginza, of course you won't find any Black Snow, Lady Miyako's kimono, or Eiga Department Stores in Ginza. But the rest of Ginza's depictions were based on true conditions, including the Kabuki Theater._


	6. Intercepting the Black Snow

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_Disclaimer: All heroes and heroines belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix and Kyoko Kasshu Minamino for beta readings, and to Lamont Mallory for the character of Capt. Kisagi, also for details about Dr. Light. Also many, many thanks to all readers who took the time to read this story. I truly appreciate your attentions (please leave your emails if you haven't done that, so I can contact you back to express my gratitude)._

**Chapter 6. Intercepting the Black Snow**

It wasn't a weekend night in Ginza, but the intersection of Harumi-dori and Showa-dori Avenues was still packed with visitors. Most of them went into the many sushi restaurants and other food stalls for dinner, while occasionally some people in traditional clothes went in a hurry to the Kabukiza. A little girl in a kimono tangled her feet and dropped her dinner box at the pedestal. Her mother tried to calm her while she burst into tears, attracting the attention of other pedestrians.

Ignoring the cacophony, Batman kept monitoring his Bat PDA for signs of danger. Diana and Tatsu had entered Eiga Department Store a few minutes ago, and so far, nothing bad had happened. He smirked when the excited Calvin Klein girl sprayed Diana with a lot of Eternity Summer. _She wouldn't like it_. He saw Diana walking to the kimono section, and made a mental note upon hearing her sigh when she touched some kimono. Then he felt a soft breeze coming towards him.

"Dr. Light," he greeted Kimiyo Hoshi without turning to see her.

"Batman," the famous Japanese heroine greeted him similarly. "How are things going?"

"Katana and Wonder Woman have entered Eiga. How's your daughter?"

"Fine..." Kimiyo was a bit surprised about the question. She rarely worked with Batman. From the numerous rumors about the Dark Knight, she concluded that the hero was indeed the darkest light, never truly expressing his concerns about personal things. To her, Batman's concern for Imako was a bit out of character.

"Her temperature has decreased to a little bit above normal, and she's stopped coughing," she continued. "Then she started pushing me 'back to work', saying that she didn't want her mom to lose a battle because of her. So now I'm here."

"Good then," Batman commented, eyes still fixed on the PDA screen. But his small gesture had encouraged Kimiyo. At first, Kimiyo preferred that only she and Tatsu handle the Black Snow case, and resented the help of international heroes. But Batman was the world's greatest detective and hero Katana had known for a long time. If Katana could trust him, so could she. Plus, so far Batman had been balanced in sharing and updating information, and truly treated Katana and Dr. Light as his equal, not as sidekicks (otherwise, she would have kicked the Caped Crusader out of Japan immediately).

"Busy night, huh?" Dr. Light scanned the vicinity, then looked at the sky above. "Hmm...full moon. No wonder. They must have this special Kabuki show now."

Batman nodded. "Yes. And more people in the park, too," He gestured eastward to the Ginza Park two blocks away. "There's a festival going on."

"It's the monthly moon festival. It'll be hard to clear the area should anything happen," Dr. Light draped her cape to cover her chest. "Katana informed me that you are going to handle the shipping tonight. Shall we leave now?"

Batman nodded. "Let's go. I was planning to go alone, thinking that you wouldn't come. The sooner we deal with the shipping, the sooner we help Wonder Woman and Katana."

The nice retro-art decoration of the room seemed fail to cheer its inhabitants. All men in the room wore black clothes; kimono and _hakama, _or occidental attire. Not one of them smiled, particularly one man who kneeled down and shivered in fear.

The door opened and a tall, handsome young man entered the room. He wore a set of dark kimono and _hakama_, along with a _jinbaori_ (Japanese sleeveless vest) with a _mon_ (family crest) depicting a flying crow, the symbol of the Iwamura clan. Everybody except the kneeling man bowed to salute him.

"Suijiro-san, we've got him," one of the hakama-clad men approached, gesturing to the kneeling man.

Suijiro nodded. He was in his mid-thirties and had a strong jaw. There was a scar in his right cheek that made him even more attractivethan if his face had been flawless. His eyes were like an eagle's, sharp and drilling deep. Upon meeting him for the first time, one's first impression would be admiration. But anyone looking closely into his eyes would either tremble or resent him.

Suijiro's eyes were cold, full of arrogance, hubris, and vengeance. This man would never take 'no' as an answer, and he would severely punish any man who betrayed him – including the kneeling man, who crawled to him, pleading for mercy.

"Suijiro-san, I beg you! Don't do this to me! My wife is pregnant, and she would suffer if I die. No one will take care of her and my child. Please!"

Disgusted, Suijiro abruptly stepped a few paces away from the man. "Why would I forgive you, you little worm! You have sold my name to the police, and nearly sent me to jail. And now you want forgiveness? Screw you!"

"Please, if you don't spare me, at least spare my wife... Don't come after her, please..."

Suijiro sniffed. "Why, Shindo - old friend, you have just given me a very good idea. Why don't I just use her the way you tricked me? A pregnant chick is always fun to play with!"

Shindo's face paled a few degrees. "Please...no...no...please... don't touch her, please... her condition is unstable now... any stress will hurt her and the baby..."

"That is _exactly_ what I want!" Suijiro's eyes glowing with hate, causing even his men to step back in fear. He grabbed Shindo's shirt, forcing the poor man to look into his hate-filled eyes, and whispered, "- To teach you not to play games with me!"

He pushed away the man, turned back to sit in a big black leather chair – apparently his 'throne' – and gave an order, "Bring his wife to me in one hour. In my chamber."

But before his men confirmed the command, suddenly Shindo jumped forward with a war cry and attacked Suijiro barehanded. His leap had pushed the chair back upside down along with the young godfather.

"You animal! Your father was a godfather too, but he never touched the wives of his men! You taint his memory! I'll kill you now, I swear!"

Not stopping there, he threw several punches at Suijiro and even tried to choke him. But the godfather was no match for Shindo. A few seconds later, Suijiro managed to throw his attacker across the room, slamming Shindo against the wall of displayed weapons. Anger at his betrayer mastered the young godfather as he grabbed the nearest _katana_ out of the hands of his guard and charged Shindo in a more fearsome war cry. At about the same time, Shindo stood up and seized the nearest weapons – a black _bokken_ (wooden sword) and a _naginata_ (the Japanese equivalent of halberd or glaive) – steadying himself against his opponent.

Although made of wood, the _bokken_ was a classic example of how 'soft' weapons such as wooden swords excelled above 'hard' weapons like true iron _katana_ or _naginata_. More than four hundred years ago, the legendary Miyamoto Musashi used a similar black _bokken_ as his faithful weapon along his journey to master his Way of the Sword. He even made a _bokken_ out of a used wooden oar to defeat his archenemy, Sasaki Kojiro, whose 'Clothing Rod' (the name of Kojiro's _nodachi_ or long two-handed sword) had taken the life of many talented samurai. It wasn't the wooden oar that made the weapon powerful; it was Musashi himself, the Man behind the Sword. In his skillful hands, a used oar was transformed into a deadly weapon.

However, Shindo wasn't nearly half as good as Musashi was. He usually used guns to fight, and occasionally _katana_. Grabbing a wooden sword was actually his last choice for any fight, but under such circumstances, he could only grab the black _bokken_, the nearest weapon he got. And the _bokken_ in his hand just became a wooden sword. Nothing more, nothing less.

CRAAACKKKK!

Shindo's _bokken_ was neatly cut into two. Pale-faced, he jumped a few steps back, shoved his _naginata_ with both hands, and charged again, aiming at Suijiro's heart. Suijiro smirked and, still running, swung his _katana_ to parry the _naginata_.

CLAAAANGG!

Shindo's arms were shaking miserably as the result of the two weapons' momentum. Striving to steady himself, he shifted the end of the _naginata_ to his body in order to directly swing it to cleanly cut through his enemy. Bad move. A split second later, it was his own body that was cut clean by Suijiro's _katana_.

The whole room was silent. Suijiro remained in his aftermath attack position, strong legs, body crouching, both arms still firmly holding his _katana_. There was almost no blood tainting his _katana_, a sign that his cut was clean. He could feel the _katana_ shivering into his body, bringing him a sense of pleasure, a feeling he always found after killing anyone. Especially with _katana_ or other classical weapons. Not with guns – they were almost barbaric weapons to his eyes – although he was also a top gunfighter.

Four seconds later he heard a 'thud' and a 'clang'. Without turning to look, Suijiro knew that it was the sound of Shindo's upper body and the _naginata_ falling. He smiled grimly. The longer the body fell, the better his cut was. Suijiro always took pride on his quality and precision of Iaido (the art of wielding a _katana_ and cutting with the same motion, as quickly as possible). To him, there was no better moment of evidence than killing his opponent in a one-to-one sword fight, something that was almost never done in the last century, even among the Yakuza. Yet his father Masahiro had brought back the tradition, and now it was his turn to keep the tradition alive. He was very pleased with the 'duty'.

Handing over the katana to his guard, Suijiro straightened up. He actually regretted not using his own katana and wakizashi for the fight, but it was an emergency. There was no greater pleasure than killing with his own sword. _Next time, I'll make sure I always carry them with me. _

"Looks like we don't need to punish him again, then," the guard who stood next to him spoke up. _I mean, can we spare his wife now?_ He didn't speak of that, though. He didn't dare, as he knew how bad Suijiro's temper was.

Suijiro glared at his guard. "If you mean you don't have to get your hands dirty by killing him, yeah – I've done the dirty job for you. But next time –" he turned his whole body to face the guard, "- don't ever, and I mean EVER, let an assault like that happen again. Or you will face the consequences. Is that clear?"

His guard nodded nervously.

"Good," Suijiro smirked, then remembered something else. "Oh, yeah. About his wife, just send her my deepest sympathy. Tell her that Shindo fought the Hayada clan bravely. She should be proud of him," he smiled again wickedly. "I also heard that she is...not so attractive. You can have her if you want, Uchida."

Uchida the guard bowed. "I shall take care of this business properly." _But I will not touch his wife. He betrayed us, but he had paid for his sins. _

"Very good," Suijiro turned to his other guard to ask about something else. At that time his cell phone rang. Cursing, he reached for his phone inside his pocket (still intact after the fight with Shindo), pushed the talk button, and barked, "What's up!"

"Suijiro-san! Forgive me, but I think I should let you know about this. There are two women here who wanted to check on the Black Snow supply. They went to Eiga and gave the correct code, 'Lady Miyako's kimono'. All identities are clear, and now Tadaki is with them."

"I thought I made it clear that this buyer service is Tadaki's business, not mine. Why are you telling me this?"

"Yes, but their names are not on the potential buyers' list. Tadaki –"

"WHAT!" Suijiro cried almost as loud as when he attacked Shindo. "Why in hell's name did you let them in!"

There was silence on the other end. Suijiro felt increasingly annoyed because of his men's recklessness. "Why don't you speak? Cat got your tongue?"

"Er... Suijiro-san... they sounded so impressive when they gave the code. They even showed us a large amount of cash in their bag, in dollars, Sir! All real dollars!"

"That doesn't say that they're clean!" Now Suijiro was angry. "What if they are cops, you idiot!"

"I...uh...we think...uh...they are clean. No wires at all, Sir." The tone of his man on the opposite side wasn't so sure anymore.

"Morons! No wires don'tmean that they are not spies! Hold them, talk nicely to them. Tell them I'm on my way there to see them personally. I don't want them to be suspicious - we don't want cops here on the shipping night!" Suijiro turned off his phone and gestured to his men to go with him.

"Bring my swords, I might need them again. And clean up the mess here. I have a party this weekend; I don't want any blood remaining."

Tokyo Narita International Airport was busy as usual. The summer holiday had started, and the airport was full with domestic and international tourists. Currentlythe United Airlines ticketing officers at the fourth floor of North Wing International Terminal 1 were busy servicing people checking in for the Gotham City flight via Singapore that would leave more than two hours later.

From the top of the North Wing roof, Batman could see all the activities on the fourth floor clearly with his x-ray binoculars. He detected no suspicious movements there as well as in the baggage handling section in Gate 43, where the passengers for Singapore and Gotham were going to depart from. But Dr. Light had informed him that the shipping would be done tonight at this terminal and gate. He had double-checked the information with his informant in Narita, an elderly officer who had had an eye on the possible underground movement using Narita as their launching point for the drug trade. It was the most recent trend of drug ring, using any international airports as 'docking point' for drugs sent or arrived in certain countries. The method was smuggling the drugs inside passengers' bags _after_ the bags were scanned inside the terminal building. As the plane (and the bags) arrived in the destination city, arranged personnel would unload the drugs from passengers' bags before the immigration officers scanned them. This operation had put several innocent lives in danger as the drug dealers failed to retrieve (or purposely chose to ignore) the package before the incoming bags were scanned; thus the bag owners were arrested for smuggling drugs.

The Outsiders had encountered a similar case in the John F. Kennedy New York International Airport as a pair of young travelers from Japan was caught under similar accusation of smuggling the Black Snow, ten days before Batman left for Japan. Nightwing's rapid approach to the NYPD and New York District Attorney had halted the further publicity and resolution of the case, while Katana and Batman tracked back the possible route of the drugs. The link connected neatly with the Black Snow chain in Japan and further convinced Batman that he and Katana had to go to Japan to solve this enigma.

Switching his binoculars into infrared mode, Batman lurked in the darker corner of the terminal roof, his eyes fixed on Gate 43 where a few meters away a big Boeing 777-200 was being prepared for its transatlantic journey. If he and Dr. Light succeeded in intercepting the shipment tonight, they might be able to save the Japanese couple from jail, and also save many more lives from death because of the Black Snow. If not, the Iwamura clan would be extra careful, and the heroes' attempts to save both countries from the drug would be harder.

A subtle 'thud' behind him indicated that Dr. Light had returned from her rapid patrol.

"The police are standing by, some of them dressed as civilians inside the building," Dr. Light informed the Batman. "Two of them even disguised themselves as passengers going to Gotham, with very easy bags to open. Perhaps the suckers will take the bait."

"I hope so." Batman continued scanning the vicinity for any signs of smuggling. Dr. Light had a good relationship with the Tokyo Police Department, so it was easier to request backups if required. Nonetheless, he still asked Dr. Light to warn the police not to make any unnecessary moves to avoid scaring the smugglers away. His mind flew back to Ginza where Diana and Tatsu were still playing rich buyers of the Black Snow. Any wrong movements here would endanger them. The last time he checked five minutes ago, they were already in the sub terrain of Ginza, welcomed by the Iwamura clan. He remembered being a little tense when Diana and Tatsu were examined by both Yakuza women, and sighed in relief when apparently they found nothing suspicious. _Relax, both of them are skillful martial artists; they are going to be okay. Even if Diana doesn't wear her vambraces now, she'll be fine. Relax!_

"Nothing yet?" Dr. Light asked, sweeping the surroundings with her own x-ray visions. She and Batman had arrived almost thirty minutes ago (Dr. Light flying while Batman flew the Batwing), ten minutes before the early check-in passengers for the 11:10 pm Singapore-Gotham routes arrived. The Tokyo police had placed personnel near the outer baggage band to detect any smuggling, but so far he hadn't seen anything. They were also planning to watch Gate 30, as there would be a flight going to San Francisco at 2 am the next day. The smuggling should happen at this point outside Gate 43, while the bags were already cleared out of baggage checks, and before they were loaded into the plane. Batman and Dr. Light arrived before the Tokyo-Singapore-Gotham counter opened and the first bags were checked in, so they shouldn't have missed the shipment.

"Just keep looking. It's still early passengers who checked in, we still have a chance," he responded. And after a thought, he added. "And if it happens, stop them from contacting Ginza. We don't want double trouble here."

Dr. Light nodded and prepared to fly away again. When she turned to prepare for take-off, she caught a glimpse of a movement in the farthest corner of the baggage deck, near a big trolley full of bags. The trolley was badly positioned behind another full trolley, so she would've missed that if she didn't shift her position. Dr. Light tensed. "Batman, there!"

The Greatest Detective already registered Dr. Light's posture change a few seconds back, and now focused his binoculars on the mentioned corner as well. He saw a man leaning over two bags to open it, and inserted a few plastic packages into each bag. Batman zoomed in his binoculars (that also functioned as a digital camera) and pressed several times to take evidential pictures.

"He's mine," he turned to Dr. Light. "He might still have friends here, so we have to be careful. I will go slow, trying not to warn him. You scan for his comrades and alarm the police." Batman shot his grapple gun and swung away.

Dr. Light reached for her communicator and pressed a button to speak to Captain Kisagi of the Tokyo Police Department.

"Captain, Dr. Light here. We have movement at Gate 43. Batman is going there. I suggest you and your men stand by, see if this guy has any friends nearby."

A clear voice replied from the other end. "Copy that, Dr. Light. Looks like this is going to be the night, then!"

"I wouldn'tpour the _sake_ now, Captain. Not yet. Got to go. See you in a sec." With that, Dr. Light dovesilently towards the airstrip ground. Her bright white cape might hinder her stealth operation, so she stayed in the darkest areas. Her movement was suddenly halted when she saw another man dressed in a technician suit approaching another trolley, a few meters away from the first trolley, beginning the same operation his comrade did a while ago. Kimiyo smirked. _Kisagi's right. This IS the night!_

Meanwhile, the first 'technician' had already done his 'baggage handling' and was ready to leave. Casually he turned away from the trolley, walked a few paces, and bumped into a tall dark figure in front of him.

"Boo," the dark figure only whispered, but the technician's whole body suddenly shook in fear.

"What-what do you want? Stopscaring me like that!" He then attempted to compose himself and establish control over the situation, but his voice came out in a squeak. "You don't have any authority here. Leave now, or I'll call security!"

"Sure you will. Do that, and I will gladly accept their help," his opponent answered in flawless Japanese, but the technician had the impression that he was a foreigner. Moreover, he got this annoying feeling that this dark figure was more fearful than a _Kappa_ (water demon), _Tengu_ (mountain spirit) or other Japanese demons that used to haunt him in his childhood dreams. He swallowed hard and started to step backwards.

"Get away! Who are you? Get away from me!"

"I will. After you show me what you did to the bags," the figure walked ahead, becoming taller and more frightening than he thought possible.

"W-wh-what b-b-bags! I don't know what you're talking about!" he squeaked again.

The figure's white eyes suddenly narrowed grimly. The 'technician' helplessly felt his body being lifted, dragged to the trolley, and pushed to one of the bags he opened before.

"Open it, and say that you don't know anything about its content!" The deep baritone voice was so scary, he was almost certain it was _Oni_ (Japanese demonic ogre) that would drag him to hell where the creature lived and ate his meat. He nodded in fear and opened the bag hastily. There were a few plastic bags inside, all containing white powder.

"I...I don't know what it is..." he chirped with very low confidence.

"Liar!" the figure hissed, then shoved something in front of his face; a pair of binoculars with a screen on the side, showing pictures of him inserting the plastic packages into the bags.

"I...I...don't... please don't tell them that I failed? They will punish me severely! Please!"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "The Iwamura clan?"

The technician nodded nervously. "Yes – yes! Them! Please don't tell them I screwed up! They'll kill me!"

Before Batman could answer, he heard another cry and shooting from inside the building. He turned to see another man in a technician's uniform run between his and Dr. Light's positions, chased by some Tokyo cops who kept yelling and shooting. From his appearance, this running man was the supervisor of the man Batman held in captivity now. The Dark Knight clenched his jaw. He had to stop the man before he had a chance to warn the Iwamura.

He looked back at his captive. "Stay here, be nice!" Then he punched him (not hard enough to break any bones, but enough to make him collapse), and ran to stop the running man.

"_Matte!_ Stop there!" He ordered. No secrecy anymore – the gunshot already ended their stealth work. Ignoring the gunshots and Batman's order, the man kept running. Worse, Batman saw the man's hand on his ear, seemingly talking to someone. _Bad. This is BAD! _He took out his batarang and threw it at his target. With one shot, the running man was down.

Batman kept running to check his opponent. A few seconds after he arrived there, Dr. Light landed next to him. A few policemen ran towards them as well.

"I caught another man, also smuggling some packages into the bags. Black Snow, I'm sure. Kisagi has him now, also your captive. What happened to this guy?"

Batman still squatted, examining the man (moaning in pain as his head had been introduced to a batarang). "Apparently he was the field supervisor for this section. I think Kisagi's man noticed him, and tried to catch him."

"And he ran, but not for long," Dr. Light gestured to the fallen man. "Good shot. He will have severe bumps for a few days."

"I should give him more than that," Batman responded grimly. He rose, showing Dr. Light a Nokia cell phone with a big screen. "He made a video-phone call to the Iwamura while running. The phone fell when I hit him. When I picked up the phone just now, it was still active. They saw me."

Dr. Light stiffened. "By the black holes! It means that they know now!"

"And that Diana and Tatsu are in danger," Batman added, punching a button in his own Bat PDA, calling the Batwing. "I have to go now."

Dr. Light nodded. "I'll stay here and help the police catch the rest of the crew. There must be more than three people in this airport. Kisagi will have to close Narita for a moment."

"Do that, and meet me ASAP in Ginza," Batman fired his grapple gun to the Batwing, lifted himself, and flew away swallowed by the night.

_Author's note: _

_Though I also took a deep pleasure in writing previous chapters, I truly enjoy this chapter as I had a chance to mention rather in detail about Miyamoto Musashi, my favorite swordsman from the Shogun era. And as I mentioned earlier, Kisagi was a Tokyo policeman created by Lamont Mallory for his fanfiction 'Dr. Light Ongoing Series'. Lamont also confirmed me about Kimiyo's x-ray ability._


	7. Descendant of the Crow

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Light II, and Katana belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix for beta reading. Sorry for the crow lecture at the first pages, I just couldn't resist writing about it! Besides, it shows the history of Iwamura clan and Masahiro that are very important in this story._

**Chapter 7. Descendant of the Crow**

When he was little, Masahiro was a loner. Born of a troubled family (a drunken father and a helpless mother), he used to run away from his father to stroll the dense hill behind his little village, east of Kyoto. He learned a lot from nature; the silent patience of a crane before it struck a fish in the pond, the stealthy movement of a wildcat hunting its target, the graceful flaps of an eagle's wings. But amongst all the animals, young Masahiro was mostly attracted to crows.

According to Japanese mythology, _karasu_, or crow, is the messenger of God. It was once said that thousands of years ago the Heaven sent a giant crow to guide a young man in his journey through the mountains of the Wakayama Prefecture to Nara. Once arriving in Nara, the young man established the first capital city of Japan. He then became Jimmu Tenno (Emperor Jimmu), the first emperor of Japan, also the direct descendant of Amaterasu Omikami (Goddess of the Sun).

The young Masahiro loved the crow tale so much, he often asked his mother to retell him the story before bedtime, while nursing the wounds they both suffered from his father. From his mother, he learned that the crow was also the symbol of prosperity as well as functioning as a talisman against evil. However, he soon found out as well that there were crow demons (_karasu tengu_) that resembled humans with beak, claws, and big black wings; hence it was sometimes considered an omen. Masahiro didn't mind the darker side of crows. In fact, he grew fond of both versions, crow as the graceful messenger from Heaven and crow as the representation of demonic spirit.

Then came the day when his father overstepped the boundary by slapping and hitting his mother so hard that she fell down, hit the wall, and passed away immediately. The ten-year-old Masahiro was so angry with his father that he attacked him with all his might. When the neighbours heard the noises, they went to Masahiro's house, only to find his very wounded father, sobbing helplessly, begging for his son not to kill him. Yet the neighbours couldn't find Masahiro anywhere. The young boy had run away.

Masahiro fled in anger. He was so close in terminating his own drunken father when he heard the neighbours come in. He actually couldn't care less if he was caught killing his own father – after all it was his father who killed his mother. But he still remembered his mother's last words. _My son, forgive your father. He does not know what he's doing..._

Those words, and only those, prevented him from terminating the old man. So instead, Masahiro ran away through the hills, desperate and not knowing what to do next. He didn't know that his father then died that night from the wounds, or that his neighbours buried his parents the day after. He just kept running from his anger and his sickening past.

Then he saw it. A very big black crow, sitting on the branch of a tree, watching him. The crow's black eyes pierced his heart so deeply, it seemed that it understood all his pain and suffering. Then suddenly the black bird took off to the blue afternoon sky, flapping its large wings, towards Tokyo.

Masahiro blinked twice, then without further hesitation he followed the bird. He arrived in Tokyo after two –weeks of walking, where he started his new career as a servant in a _sake_ shop in a shabby district in the outskirt of the capital city. He didn't pick the shop as his first career. The crow did. In fact, it just landed and perched itself at the old roof, didn't move anywhere, didn't do anything but stare at Masahiro with its piercing black eyes. A few minutes later, the sake shop owner went out, saw a filthy but determined young boy outside of his shop, then declared in five minutes that he might need an assistant.

It turned out that it wasn't a good career at all. Masahiro's new boss was as drunk as his father, and worse, because he wasn't the young boy's father, he had all the freedom to treat Masahiro as he liked. It was true that he provided Masahiro with shelter and food, but he also barked and scolded him for very tiny mistakes, or whenever he felt in the mood to do so. The only reason Masahiro stayed there was the crow.

In the evening of his fifth day in the sake shop, Masahiro already felt the urgent need to kill his new boss. As he went out to the backyard, trying to calm himself, he saw the crow again, perching at the wooden fence and scrutinizing him with its black eyes. As Masahiro approached the bird (in an attempt to ask it bluntly and loudly why it led him here, and why he was so stupid to be led by a nasty black bird), he heard some noises at his neighbour's yard. Thrusting his head over the fence curiously, he witnessed the most impressive scene of his childhood. An elderly man in _kimono_ and _hakama_, holding a pair of swords (_katana_ and _wakizashi_), practicing a series of sword fighting scenes. Masahiro didn't have any trouble registering all the movements in the darkened evening. In fact, he could remember almost everything just by observing the man's shoulders and the directions of his movements. He couldn't see the foot movements due to the darkness, but he oddly absorbed everything easily.

And at that moment, Masahiro suddenly understood why the crow led him there. He had to learn sword fighting from that very talented elderly man. Without realizing, Masahiro had already jumped across the fence and dragged himself towards the samurai. He kneeled before him, begging the old samurai to take him as his student. The samurai told Masahiro to speak of his past, his parents, his family, and his reason to be in Tokyo. Bluntly Masahiro told everything (excluding the crow). After ten minutes of silence, the samurai accepted him as his student.

And so Masahiro's short career in the _sake_ shop ended. Instead, he then learned the two-swords fighting style, _Iaido_, and other ancient techniques from his new teacher. Sinoguchi Gonosuke, his teacher, was truly an accomplished samurai. He detected the Masahiro's eagerness to learn, as well as the dark spirit within him. Gonosuke didn't mind. In fact, Gonosuke was also an opportunist who wouldn't hesitate to take a chance to improve his lifestyle and make himself more famous.

The opportunity came a year after he accepted Masahiro as his student. Hayada, a Yakuza clan in Tokyo asked him to teach the young Yakuza guards the proper ancient sword fighting. Without hesitance, Gonosuke accepted the offer. He then moved to a better neighbourhood in the heart of Tokyo, dragging Masahiro with him. That was Masahiro's first career within the Yakuza circle, as the student and assistant of the Yakuza _sensei_.

Masahiro proved to be an excellent sword fighter as well. He and Gonosuke were the assets of the Hayada family, with Gonosuke as the _sensei_ and Masahiro his silent assistant. The Hayada respected them, and for the first time in his life, Masahiro felt that he had finally found a group whom he could relate to. Or so it appeared, until a few years later when Masahiro was in his twenties, some of the Hayada set them up, possibly out of jealousy, and managed to kill Gonosuke in a gunfight. Masahiro was enraged. Miraculously he survived the ambush, and killed all the twenty gunmen with only Gonosuke's_ katana_ and a gun he seized from the nearest gunman.

Afterwards, Masahiro left the Hayada clan. He swore not to affiliate himself ever again with any other Yakuza clan. Instead, he built his own clan, taking his mother's maiden family name (Iwamura) as the clan's name, and the flying crow as his _mon_ (family crest). The crow itself, the one who had led him to Gonosuke, had flown away years ago, while he wasn't looking. Masahiro felt that the crow understood that his life was improved then, thus it decided to leave the young man to his own faith.

With his new clan, Masahiro started spreading his own wings. He had a good sense of business, thus he managed to preserve his assets in a relatively short time. Soon, his crow _mon_ was a symbol of fear in Tokyo, even among the Yakuza clans. In between his 'business', Masahiro still took time to thank the crow for bringing him to his current life. By that time, Masahiro had learned that the Celts of Western culture depicted crows as the symbol of evil and death. The mixed symbolism of the crow as the messenger of God as well death had convinced Masahiro that he indeed chose the 'right' _mon_ for his clan.

As his children grew up, Masahiro also grew fond of telling the crow tale to both of Akoya and Suijiro. Their reactions were different. Akoya would then just sketch some crows and a little boy running in the forest, giggling happily when she showed his father her work. On the other hand, Suijiro just looked at the _mon_ solemnly, as if he wanted to absorb all its power.

Unsurprisingly, both of the Iwamura children developed different attitude towards crows. Though Akoya became an animal lover, she despised the crow populations in Tokyo. She disliked their loud voices and their habit of destroying garbage bins to find some food. And it was true that the South East Asian jungle crows (_Corvus macrorhynchos_) were becoming annoying pests in metropolitan Tokyo. Over the years, the growing human population in Tokyo and surroundings had changed the natural environment, hence forcing the crows to migrate to the city. As the black birds with wingspans up to one meter and sharp beaks flooded the capital city, they turned the tides by disturbing the human populations. Not only pecking the garbage bins for food (and leaving the spot in a mess), the birds also attacked passersby and picnickers in the parks, especially during their breeding season of May-July. The crow population in Tokyo had grown from 7,000 in 1985 to 14,000 in 1996, and 21,000 in 1999. The attitude of those birds was increasingly annoying (they even attacked kittens and other small animals) that not only once Akoya asked her father to change the Iwamura _mon_ for something else (which Masahiro rejected with a smile).

Suijiro, on the other hand, grew very fond of crows. He didn't mind the crow attacks that frequented Tokyo in his teenage years. He saw the crows the way he saw the Iwamura clan; a fearful force that ruled and clouded Tokyo with its power. It so happened that the growing population of crows in Tokyo coincided with the growing power of the Iwamura clan. In 2001, the Tokyo crow population reached its peak of 36,400 – a number that even worried the government. When the government started a lot of ways to curb the crow population (from using crow traps, installing garbage nets, removing crow nests and eggs, even promoting 'eating crow-pie'), Suijiro just smirked.

"They may be able to decrease the crow population here. But they will never be able to curb the Iwamura clan."

His men understood that Suijiro was serious. By that time Akoya had died and Masahiro had left his throne, disappearing from the whole Yakuza activities. So they naturally turned to Suijiro to lead their clan, despite his demeanor. Suijiro was trickier than Masahiro, plus he was cruel. Very, very cruel. He even overstepped his father's rule of protecting Iwamura's own people. Not only once or twice Suijiro slept with the wives or partners of his men, mostly done with the women's consent though, as Suijiro's charm was indeed hard to resist. Suijiro also infiltrated political networks in Tokyo, making his tentacles harder to avoid.

Yet, as Tokyo determined to lower its crow population, the Tokyo police department also determined to hunt down the Iwamura (and other Yakuza clans) and make the _karasu no mon_ disappear from Japan.

Hence, Suijiro became very alarmed with security issues. His Black Snow trade in the U.S. had given him more profits than ever, but it seemed that the luck of the crow would soon leave him. The recent rumour that the New York network had been decapitated had made him very careful with the future trade in the U.S. (he was thinking of U.K., Europe, and Asian markets instead). Realizing that his men had let in two strangers to the Black Snow headquarter in Ginza, he grew very anxious. When he reached the Ginza HQ by another secret passage in Ginza Park, he was ready to kill Tadaki for his lack of security and common sense.

xxx

Diana had infiltrated some illegal trade headquarters before, but she had never dealt with drug business. Usually she raided those who sold women and children or dealt with slimy bosses that paid his workers very low wages forced them to work in very unhygienic and unsafe places. So when she entered the Black Snow headquarters in Ginza, it felt like being in a very sterile lab, only with a grimmer ambience.

With a quick glance, she and Tatsu scrutinized the whole headquarters. There was a room at one end, separated with glass walls, where they could see lab equipment as well as workers in white measuring various substances, doing distillation, and various lab work. In the room where they stood now, other workers were packaging white powders (seemingly produced during the process in the other room) in plastic bags. They also neatly placed the plastic bags in black leather bags (possibly to be delivered to Narita and other departure ports).

The room was guarded by many men and women in black _hakama_ or suits. Realizing that those people were examining them silently, Diana straightened herself and patted her Louis Vuitton bag. _I'm a rich girl here. Let's do business_.

The man in _hakama_ who greeted them gestured to follow him to another tall bearded man with dense eyebrows, clearly his supervisor. The overall appearance of this man reminded Diana of a big grizzly bear. The bearded man also wore the same _hakama_ and _jinbaori_, his hands holding a _katana_ and a _wakizashi_. He nodded to the first man, moved to face Diana and Tatsu, and spoke to them in accented English.

"Diana Prince and Kawaguchi Hanako, my name is Kuma Tadaki. I'm the supervisor here. I understand that you would like to do some business with us."

Tatsu nodded. "I'm here with my colleague from Gotham City, U.S., to make a new arrangement of the Black Snow shipment to the U.S. Diana Prince here –" on cue, Diana flamboyantly fixed her De Rigo spectacles that perched on her fine nose, "-represents a very large network that will boost your profit better than your previous partnership in America."

Tadaki studied Diana carefully with his deep eyes, hooded with dense eyebrows. Diana looked back at him, didn't move an inch. No one had ever intimidated her (even her beloved but scary Batman), so this grizzly bear surely wouldn't be able to.

"Our activities in Gotham were very successful, I don't see why we need a bigger network there to link directly with Tokyo," Tadaki muttered. "Unless you are..."

Diana glanced quickly at Tatsu, who had remained stoic since they arrived in the basement. _Oops. Don't tell me we are busted so soon..._

"...the rival of our liaison, the Giovanni gang, in Gotham, and you want to take the profit out of their hands."

Tatsu snorted in relief, and with this signal Diana stepped forward.

"The Giovanni you're talking about are cowards. They ran away as the policemen approached their warehouse, nearly giving the evidence to the police. Our men had been tailing them, and decided to save all evidence from the GCPD." She kept talking with Tadaki, nose held up high. "Thus, I think the Iwamura should reconsider the partnership with them, and consider partnering with the Prince for the future."

Tatsu also stepped forward. "We've been talking to Suijiro-san, if you wonder about it. He was pretty impressed with the Prince's records, and decided to give us the opportunity for a quick factory tour." She looked right to Tadaki's eyes. "I take it that your boss told you that we're coming."

Tadaki looked back at Tatsu. "As a matter of fact, Hanako-san, your names are not on my list today."

"Well, then. Surely a mistake was made." Tatsu's voice had not changed a bit; her eyes were still fixed on Tadaki's.

"I am here to offer a very fruitful partnership for the Iwamura, as of course noted by your men during the earlier screening," Diana added. "I surely hope to avoid any misinterpretation about my presence here. Or would you like to confirm that with Mr. Iwamura himself?" _Ouch. Better not._

Tadaki seemed to consider the option. But then he smiled and waved his hands.

"No outsiders should find out about our secret codes. It should be enough to justify your presence here. I will talk to Suijiro-san's secretary later, informing her about this... recklessness." He bowed deep. "Now that it is sorted out, I guess we can talk business then."

"I'm glad we come to that conclusion," Tatsu smiled and, together with Diana, bowed as well. "Now... we would very much like to see your procedures then. How do you create such a fine substance like the Black Snow? I think that's what Ms. Prince here would like to know."

Tadaki nodded, and gestured to both women to follow him. He led them through the first step of Black Snow making, explaining in detail their method of extracting essence from a special black flower to be added with heroin and cocaine.

"This, ladies..." he proudly held up a stem of a black lavender-like flower, "...is also called _Kuroyuki_. It is a very rare flower that only grows in several secret places of the Hokkaido Island, in the remote snowy areas. This flower is the secret of the Black Snow. Mix this with the usual heroin and cocaine... and we have the deadly Black Snow ready to be shipped to the U.S."

Diana took the _Kuroyuki_ flower and scrutinized it the way Bruce would. "Very interesting. But surely it is not only by grinding the dried petals with the rest of the stuff, that would produce the Black Snow?" She handed it over to Tatsu, but couldn't resist sniffing the flower. "Smells good!" she exclaimed. "I would think it is a flower for perfume."

Tatsu took the flower hastily from Diana's hand and smelled it as well. "You're right. It has a very nice fragrance. Tadaki-san, are you sure this is the main ingredient of the Black Snow?"

Tadaki chuckled. "In fact, ladies, peasant women who lived in nearby villages in Hokkaido used to crush _Kuroyuki_ for their perfumes during the New Year festivals! That is if they were lucky, of course, as the flower was very hard to find. They didn't know then that a high dose of this flower is deadly. The deadly essence is not evoked by merely crushing the petals."

"Then how did you find its potential?" Tatsu felt her interest rising.

"Ah... then I would have to tell you the story of my grandfather, the inventor of the essence of _Kuroyuki_. He was from Hokkaido, of course – so I was also from the snowy island. One day..."

Surprisingly, Tadaki was very talkative with the _Kuroyuki_ story. Diana began to believe that Tadaki's grandfather had truly invented the way to extract the essence of the Black Snow, when she felt a tingling need to glance at the farthest section of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a man talking hastily on his mobile phone. Diana recognized him as the first man who greeted them at the basement. She frowned. She would bet her new Louis Vuitton bag that the man was calling someone important – perhaps Suijiro himself. That only meant that Tadaki still thought he should check with Suijiro about their presence. It also could mean danger for her and Tatsu.

She realized that her suspicion might be proven sooner than she thought when the man finished talking to his mobile and approached Tadaki with firm steps. Tadaki had finished explaining the history of _Kuroyuki_ (Tatsu seemed to be genuinely impressed with the story), and was about to begin explaining the extraction process. He was a bit annoyed when the man gestured to talk to him in private. Diana found this a bit amusing – Tadaki clearly had a high sense of belonging with the Black Snow processes, if not the whole business.

"I'm sorry, I have to excuse myself. But Shiori here will tell you how to further extract _Kuroyuki_." He gestured for a woman in black _hakama_ to move forward, then left.

Shiori was one of the women who had searched Diana and Tatsu earlier. A slender woman in her thirties, her long reddish hair was pinned on top of her head. She had a very pretty face with a fine nose, but her long slim eyes were very cold. Methodically she explained the extraction process of _Kuroyuki_, as well as the rest of the procedures until the Black Snow was ready for shipping. She led Diana and Tatsu to several sections in the basement, each having its specific role in producing the deadly substance.

The whole Black Snow tour took almost twenty minutes, and by the time it ended, Diana had a very clear idea of the lethal effect of prolonged exposure to the Black Snow, and how to make the countermeasure. Batman was not the only scientist in the League, and Diana had paid good attention to her chemistry lessons during her time in Themyscira, as well as during her scientific discussions with the Batman. She was determined to make an antidote to the Black Snow once this whole Iwamura business was taken down.

"...and as it is packed in sealed plastic bags, the Black Snow is ready to be sent to any destination in the world." Shiori had just finished her lecture. She spoke perfect English with almost no accent at all, Diana could picture her as an English teacher better than a Yakuza woman. As if on cue, Tadaki approached the group, his steps wide and sure.

"Good news. Apparently, Suijiro-san is very interested in the prospect of having business with you, Ms. Prince. He seeks to see you again in person. He will arrive in a few minutes, so I suggest we just wait for him."

Tatsu and Diana exchanged a quick glance, then Tatsu smiled brightly. "Perfect. It is time to make everything clear."

xxx

A luxurious black BMW parked behind a black Audi on a corner of the Ginza Park, nicely hidden from the crowd that night by a group of tall trees. Suijiro stepped out, carrying his pair of _katana_ and _wakizashi_. Uchida, his second in command, and three other men walked out of the Audi. Accompanied by them, Suijiro walked briskly to a small wooden shack that looked like a gardener's hut, opened the door with a key, and entered the darkness.

The wooden shack was actually another entrance to the Black Snow headquarters. As all of them entered, one of his men closed the door. Suijiro walked to one of the corners and opened an old wooden box. Inside, there was a panel with several buttons and a screen. He hit a combination of numbers and put his right palm on the screen. A large piece of 'wooden floor' nearby suddenly moved backwards, revealing descending stairs to the underground. Quickly, he and his men entered the basement. The 'wooden floor' moved back again to its original position as the last man disappeared into the shadows.

Inside was a long corridor heading to Eiga Department Store. Followed by his men, Suijiro moved along the corridor to the headquarter. It took them less than five minutes to reach the end of the corridor; a steel door with a panel and a screen on its left side. As Suijiro did the earlier procedure of verification, the door slid open, revealing another door, this time made of glass, where a man in a black suit stood guard. Behind the glass door, Suijiro could look into the Black Snow headquarter, where all his staffs, dressed in black or white, was busy working. In another room across the hall, he saw a foreign blonde woman and an unfamiliar Japanese woman talking to Shiori and Tadaki.

xxx

"I assure you that Suijiro-san is on his way here, and that you will meet him in five minutes," Tadaki waved his hand to dismiss Shiori, then glanced at the exit door. Upon seeing that Suijiro had arrived, he turned back to Diana and Tatsu and smiled, "In fact, he's here already! Now you two can have a nice business talk with him."

Knowing that his presence was acknowledged, Suijiro changed his pace, walking slowly but surely toward Tadaki. He didn't have to pretend to be a scary _daifu_ (godfather); his pace showed many people that he was indeed a man of power. Yet, the two guests seemed not to be intimidated by his presence, though he was sure that they knew that he realized they were impostors. That wasn't good, as it only meant that the two women were as powerful – or worse, more powerful – than he was. As he got closer, he stopped and scrutinized them with his crow-like eyes, his men busily bowing to him.

"Suijiro-san!" Tadaki also bowed, then continued in Japanese. "These two women came here saying that they had met you in person about the Black Snow business to Gotham. We are –"

"- wondering if they are impostors, or genuinely interested in doing business with you," Diana snapped in fluent Japanese. "I don't think that such a great _daifu_ like you would miss the chance for a better profit in the U.S. Or am I mistaken?"

"Only if you truly own a business in Gotham..." Suijiro leaned towards Diana, his eyes narrowed into small slits. "...Ms. Prince..."

"Oh, I assure you, Suijiro-san..." Diana also stepped forward facing the Godfather, "... that I truly have a good business in Gotham." _One day...one day... opening a homeopathic spa and cafe under the Wayne wing..._

"...in which I apparently have forgotten, then." Suijiro smirked, then turned to Tatsu. "I also have totally forgotten that I've met you before... Hanako-san." His mind searched for his memories, as he seemed to have seen this strong Japanese face somewhere.

Tatsu didn't even blink. "Then, I regret to say that you must have a very poor memory for a _daifu_, Suijiro-san."

Suijiro opened his mouth to comment, but Uchida's mobile phone rang just before he spoke. He turned to Uchida to bark, but Uchida just glanced at the phone screen and whispered, "Narita."

The _Daifu_'s face tensed. Somehow he felt that the phone from Narita wasn't going to be good news. He nodded to Uchida who hastily punched the 'talk' button and growled, "What's up!"

Uchida's phone was the latest incarnation of Nokia with a sophisticated video conference option. The Godfather's second in command activated the video link and listened for a few seconds as the guy at the other end talked briefly in Japanese. Whatever he was talking about, he wasn't happy about it, and seemed to be talking while running. That was very apparent in the screen, as it was just showing the man's face jiggling while he ran. All the other people around Uchida abruptly stopped and tried to listen to the phone conversation, including Diana and Tatsu. And suddenly the man on the other line yelled in pain, and he stopped talking.

"What the -!" Suijiro had enough of this and grabbed the phone from Uchida's hand. "Hey, you there! Talk!" he barked to the screen. He was half hoping to see the man again, but instead he saw a shadowy dark figure appeared on the screen. The _Daifu_'s face suddenly turned pale.

"The Batman! What is he doing there!"

Uchida answered quickly. "Police came and ransacked the Narita. Apparently they have Batman and Dr. Light with them!"

"How come the superheroes know about the Black Snow!" Suijiro's wrath was similar to his anger at Shindo before. Only this time, it surely would get worse. He looked furiously at all of his staff in that room, as if they could provide him some answers. None of them spoke.

Suijiro then turned back to Diana and Tatsu. Both women were also silent. They realized what was happening, and understood that soon they would have to defend themselves. Suijiro studied them more deeply, then came closer to Diana. He peered behind Diana's spectacles with a manner that somehow reminded Diana of the Batman while he was questioning his prey. Slowly, Suijiro took off Diana's glasses, revealing the unframed azure eyes behind it.

"I know I've seen you somewhere..." the _Daifu_ whispered in English.

"I was actually considered a photo model back in the U.S." Diana didn't move an inch. _Of course. National Geography, People, Ms., Cosmopolitan..._

"We'll see..." Suijiro leered, then suddenly his hands grabbed Diana's blonde hair, uncovering thick raven hair pinned behind. With a Don Juan style, he reached for a hairpin to undo it, but his action was halted.

"You don't have to do that. I can help myself." Grabbing his wrist, Diana stopped Suijiro's hand and looked at him in the eye. Quickly she removed the hairpins, and shook her hair to let it fall to her shoulders.

"Wonder Woman." Suijiro commented, matter-of-factly. "I knew it the moment I saw your blue eyes."

"Well, thank you for being such a loyal fanboy, then." Diana let go of his hand.

Turning to Tatsu, Suijiro mocked. "I suppose you can show me yourself, then... Tatsu Yamashiro?"

Tatsu didn't flinch while she took off her faux hair with one stroke. "So you talked with other Yakuza _oyabun_ then, about me?" _Oyabun_ in Japanese is 'boss', another term to address Yakuza godfathers. Just like Dr. Light, Katana had fought against some Yakuza gangs before.

"Let's just see that I've been collecting information about you, Dr. Light, and other Japanese superheroes. If Wonder Woman is here, she should be accompanied by a Japanese hero, no? It should be either you or Dr. Light. As Dr. Light is with Batman in Narita, then Katana should be the one with Wonder Woman here."

"Impressive," Tatsu threw her faux hair across the room. "I assume that you are ready to surrender, now?"

The Godfather snorted. "It seems that I should be the one who says that, ladies." Suijiro stepped backwards, his hands signaling his men for action.

_Author's note:_

_Okay, there you go! Sorry it took me so long to get from Chapter 6 to 7. I hope you enjoy Diana and Tatsu, though they haven't done any aikido, karate, jujitsu or sword playing this time (it will be on Chapter 8, promise!). And yeah, re: the crows attacking Tokyo, it was true. Until now, crows are plague for Tokyo citizens. Check the google if you don't believe me! It's just such a coincidence that the symbol for the Iwamura clan (which I picked out of the air) was the crow that was also a nuisance to Tokyo._


	8. The Crow, the Eagle, the Dragon, the Bat

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Light II, and Katana belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix for beta reading._

**Chapter 8. The Crows, the Eagle, the Dragon, and the Bat**

"_It seems that I should be the one who says that, ladies."_

Suijiro's smug face was clearly seen on the Batscreen as the Batman monitored the event in the basement of Eiga from the flying Batwing. The Dark Knight clenched his jaw as he increased the speed of his jet. He was very sure that Diana and Tatsu would handle the Iwamura men well, but he was still worried. He didn't like this feeling – the feeling of attachment and anxiety over Diana's safety. He felt a bit guilty about Tatsu, as he wasn't sure if he would be this anxious if Diana weren't inside the Black Snow headquarters. He knew both women very well. Katana had been his colleague since the early days of the Outsiders. Diana...well... not only he had met her during her first few weeks of innocence in Man's World, and they had fought side by side many times, now she was also his lover. He wanted to be with Diana as long as Time permitted them, and he surely didn't want it to end tonight.

What if there were a situation when he had to choose between saving Diana or Tatsu? Not that it would happen tonight. He was very sure that both warrior women would be just fine. But what if, in the future, he had to choose between Diana or other friends? Say... Tim? Dinah? Dick? Barbara? Or the lovely Selina Kyle, whose love had turned into mutual friendship? Or even the stubborn old Ollie, or the annoying Kyle? Who would he choose? If he chose Diana, would that be unfair? And why did all those thoughts suddenly come up now? It was just not the right time!

The Batman watched Suijiro signal his men to attack both women. He frowned and looked out the cockpit window. Ginza was almost in front of him. Soon he would be able to fight side by side again with Diana. This thought improved his mood. Fighting alongside Diana was always interesting. It was true that she was incredibly strong, in Superman's class even. But first of all, she was trained as a warrior, and she actually loved using her warrior fighting techniques rather than brute strength. She was also keen to build up her fighting skills, one of the many reasons she usually trained with him. One of the many reasons he loved having her around.

The Batwing had reached Ginza, hovering over the Kabukiza. From a long black wooden box, the Caped Crusader took a pair of _katana_ and _wakizashi_, all encased in black bat-patterned scabbards, each ornamented with a delicate bat-design on the _tsuba_ (sword guard) and _tsuka_ (sword handle). He hooked his _katana_ to the left side of his utility belt, slipped the _wakizashi_ in front, then grabbed Tatsu's and Diana's bags. Quickly, he opened the cockpit, aimed his grapple gun at a lamppost in front of Eiga, then swung away. He would contemplate on his motives for saving Diana over his friends later on.

With a slight 'thud' he landed in front of Eiga. Many passersby just gasped when they saw the Batman appear in Ginza. Batman didn't often have crimes to solve in Japan – Gotham kept him occupied. He had gone to Japan once or twice on League business, but never to Ginza. Ignoring the comments from the crowd, he ran into the department store, his cape swirling behind.

Running between the packed and amazed visitors to Eiga, the Dark Knight went to the particular section where Diana and Tatsu had entered the basement. He found the hidden curtain behind the picture of two girls with summer hats, slid the curtain aside, and faced the metal entrance door. He had the Batwing auto-analyze the code numbers before, so he knew what number to enter on the panel. But he didn't have the palm pattern of the lady in the kimono section for the second verification. He could scan the panel for some 'palm reading' results, but then he would have to analyze and separate several palm patterns from one another. He could also look for the kimono lady and drag her here for access. But there was no time for either option. He reached for his utility belt, took out some plastic-rubber balls, pressed one of them at the panel, and detonated it. He took a few steps behind and covered his face and body with his Nomex-Kevlar-lined cape as the micro bomb exploded with some smoke, destroying only the panel section. He walked past the smoke, kicked the door open, and entered. Behind him, the nearest smoke alarm cried and caused the shoppers to panic.

xxx

Suijiro's men approached silently, swords and guns at the ready. Diana and Tatsu stood still, shoulders relaxed, listening to every movement, every breath, and every step surrounding them. They had been in battles before, and surely this one was no different, even if they didn't have their weapons with them.

Slowly taking off her red coat, Diana inhaled, looking at the ceiling, and suddenly said, "You know, actually I really want to have a look again at that purple kimono." She then hung her coat from her left arm.

Tatsu's fine eyebrows arched. "You mean the blue one? The one with the cranes and fish?"

"No, that was the one offered to you, remember?" Diana waved her right hand and turned her whole body to face Tatsu. "I mean the deep violet one, the one on the right. I think I have enough money here to buy it." She lifted her handbag cheerfully.

"Oh...I see..." Tatsu nodded after a thought. "I prefer the black one with the dragon, at the left hand side when we first arrived." She shifted herself to face Diana as well. "I think I like the color."

Diana smiled. "It suits you, indeed." And with that, she threw her handbag at the nearest gunman to her right, disorienting him for a while. Then promptly she tossed her expensive but light-weighted Donna Karan coat, using it as a lasso to strangle another man's neck, pulling him towards her, and kicking him back after introducing him to her punch. The warrior then leapt and screamed a war cry towards another man holding a _katana_ and _wakizashi_. She pushed herself to the man to the ground; her right hand seized the _wakizashi_. By the time the man fell down, Diana already firmly grabbed the _wakizashi_, her left hand slid down to twist the man's wrist and seize his _katana_. The Amazon warrior jumped back at her feet as the other Yakuza men raised their swords or aimed at her.

At the same time as Diana jumped, Katana also ducked and swept the man in her left side in his feet. She threw herself to the ground as well, then by using the man's inertia, grabbed and swung him to protect herself, right as she heard some gun shots aimed at her. Unintended, the man in her hands became her shield, and he died right away killed by his own friends. Katana didn't waste her time; she grabbed the dead man's _katana_, throwing his body towards his friends, then somersaulted a few times to get more space. She leapt to a table, finding herself surrounded by more than ten Yakuza – mostly armed with swords.

xxx

Diana tried to remember when was the last time she fought without her vambraces to protect her. She usually wore her silver vambraces everywhere, even in charity parties or dinner, as that particular weapon of hers were also fashionable. Once or twice she didn't have her vambraces with her, and she had to save some people from ordinary burglars or stupid teenage gangs. But never she was unarmed, surrounded by a bunch of Yakuza killers, all with their swords and guns. _This is very interesting. At least I have a pair of swords already._ Quickly she interchanged her swords, so that she held the _katana_ with her right hand and the _wakizashi_ with her left hand, as most right-handed swordsmen did.

The Amazon shifted her weight to another leg, slowly stepping sideway to measure her enemies. She was surrounded by at least eight men and women armed with guns, as well as five Yakuza with swords. From the corner of her eyes she could see more Yakuza running inside through the same door where Suijiro came from. _Good. Let the game begin._

xxx

Looking down from the table, Katana smirked. Slowly, she made a small circle to monitor her surroundings. She had a better position now, and she also held a _katana_ already. She missed Soultaker, wishing that she had her loyal sword instead. But this _katana_ would also do. She swung her newly seized _katana_ lightly, judging its weight, and satisfied that it was indeed a good sword, light enough to swing, heavy enough to strike. She nodded to herself, holding her sword with both hands in front of her solar plexus, eyes fixed at a single point in front of her. _C'mon boys, jump up. I'm ready here!_

As if on cue, the Yakuza yelled their war cries, and started to jump to the table. Stupid men. With ease, Katana swung her sword, taking her enemies down one by one. Blood started to splash, awakening her warrior spirit.

xxx

A series of gunshots whizzed toward Diana as she ducked and ran. Not away from her assailants, but _toward_ them. She raised her short _wakizashi_ and used it to deflect the bullets with the speed she usually applied when she welcomed the shots with her vambraces. Diana was lucky to find a good _wakizashi_ to use against the bullets, as most of the Iwamura men didn't use the short-bladed sword. Only some higher-level people like Uchida, Tadaki, Shiori, and of course Suijiro and Masahiro used both _katana_ and _wakizashi_. Mastering the two-way swords was a bit tricky, and not all of the men had the patience and skill to do that.

During their silent moments after being exposed, Diana had quickly planned that she would seize a _katana_ and use it to parry the bullets, while her other hand just deal with the attackers by punching, or even grabbing the swords. But now, with the _wakizashi_ as her emergency 'vambraces', everything was made easier. Diana continued welcoming her attackers with her _katana_, swinging it the way Amazons swung swords, with hard attacks and precise strikes.

xxx

Katana was a samurai. A Japanese warrior who were not afraid to kill. During her first few strikes, she had killed two Yakuza with thin slices of _Iaido_ technique. She even grabbed another _katana_, thus now she held a sword in each hand. Some Yakuza had started to shoot. _Cowards! I hate gunmen! Perhaps that's why I befriended Batman._

Yet, as she ducked to avoid the bullets, Tatsu realized that there was one thing that separated her from the Batman. She didn't hesitate to kill. After all, she was a samurai raised in Japan. A true samurai kills because he or she needs to kill, not because he or she is bloodthirsty.

But codes in the U.S. were different. There, they had their own code of conduct. The Batman was one of the most loyal heroes with a 'no killing' policy. Katana respected that policy, so she strived not to kill in every Outsiders' mission in the past, despite her own desire. She knew Batman didn't approve of her killing – though Wonder Woman would understand that, being a warrior as well. Yet, this was Japan, where two hundred years ago, samurai still had wars and conflicts as their main occupations; hence killing was a normal thing. And the very same spirit still ran through the veins of Tatsu Yamashiro. That spirit vibrated every time she defended her own life or the life of innocents, if necessary by taking another life. Just like this time.

xxx

Ducking to avoid a sweeping sword, Diana raised her left hand to grab her attacker's wrist and throw it aside using his momentum. She heard his wrist bone crack as she rolled to the front, leapt back to her feet, and found that her original assailants had reduced to only one shaking man, trying to aim with his gun. Up until now, Diana had only injured her enemies without killing any. Yet she knew that these Yakuza were different from New York gangsters, or even the cruel Gotham mafia. These Yakuza were trained with the ancient Japanese spirit, ready to kill anyone in their way. Their swords were very sharp, and their aim was precise. It was rather hard to deflect bullets without her vambraces. She had already gotten two or three thin slices in her arms, wounds that would heal fast. But she had to admit that the Iwamura indeed wielded high quality swords that could do the slicing very efficiently, thus very lethal, even in the hand of the minor killers in the group.

Nonetheless, the _wakizashi_ in her hand was still made of ordinary steel, not the unbreakable silver-amazonium alloy. After a few minutes of dodging bullets with the short sword, it finally broke off. Diana had to toss it off, then deflect the bullets with her _katana_, while seizing another _katana_ from one of the attackers to continue fighting.

Now the Amazon warrior stood tall, blood dripping from both of her swords, her crisp white Oscar de la Renta dress damaged and turned red, tainted with the blood of her assailants. Upon detecting more footsteps, she turned to see more than ten Yakuza coming, with Tadaki as the leader. Diana prayed that she didn't have to use lethal force upon them.

xxx

Katana jumped off the table, rolled to a rather empty space, and stood tall. She had finished off most of her attackers, with two or three people still living with major injuries. A spray of blood tainted her left cheek, dripping down to the corner of her mouth. She didn't brush it off. She looked around to find more and more men and women surrounding her. Shiori stood in front of them. Although she hadn't been fighting with Tatsu, splatters of blood from her fellow Yakuza already stained her black hakama and face. Strays of her reddish hair fell down to her face, making her a deadly beauty. She raised her own black _katana_ with both hands, ordering calmly to her men, "This one's mine."

xxx

"Interesting fight you have here," Tadaki commented in Japanese, not even bothering to translate, as he understood that Diana spoke Japanese well.

"Interesting _Kuroyuki_ story you have there," Diana shrugged and replied in Japanese as well. "Are you sure you didn't make it up?"

The eyes of the 'grizzly bear' reddened in anger. "I'm never joking about the Black Snow! It was my grandfather who invented it, and he made our family famous because of that. I'm not going to let you take that away from us!"

"Too bad that your family got famous notoriously," Diana held one of her _katana_ up high, while positioning the other one in front of her sternum to strike. "Ready when you are."

xxx

"Don't count on it," Tatsu Yamashiro smirked at Shiori. She relaxed both shoulders, hands still firmly holding both _katana_. "Are you sure you don't want to give up?"

"_Bakero_!" Shiori swore in Japanese. "You shut up right now!"

"Wow. Your mom sure didn't teach you courtesy," Katana snorted, raising one _katana_ high and lowering the other one in equal opposite forces.

xxx

Bang!

A loud explosion stopped the two major fights. All eyes went fixed at the entrance, where a thick smoke suddenly clouded the view. From behind the smoke, a tall dark figure appeared, dragging two unconscious Yakuza men with him.

"I believe I can still join the party," the Batman murmured while throwing his victims aside.

Suijiro gritted his teeth. Actually, the security cameras of the headquarter had been recording Batman's presence since he blew up the metal door at Eiga. However, none of the Iwamura men, including Suijiro, noticed that, as they were distracted by Wonder Woman and Katana. After exposing both women, somehow Suijiro knew that the Batman could find this place. He had summoned most of his men for aid. But judging from how well both women defended themselves, he feared that his men were not enough. And now the Batman appeared, and perhaps soon, Dr. Light too.

"Of course you can, Mr. Bat. I'm the host here. Allow me." With a slight tilt of head gesture from Suijiro, more than ten men and women ran circling the Batman; half of them holding the guns while the rest held swords.

"It's the Batman, _not_ Mr. Bat, in case you never read newspapers." Batman took out both of his _katana_ and _wakizashi_ from the scabbards, ready to strike. The fluorescent lamps on the ceiling shone upon the wavy blades of both swords, causing them to emanate ethereal steel-blue light.

xxx

Diana just realized that she held her breath for a while upon seeing Batman again. It was amazing how the mere presence of that brooding guy could lift her spirits. She knew he wanted to come to help her fight these men, but she wasn't expecting that to happen. She didn't know what had happened in Narita. She just assumed that Bruce would be there for quite a while, and that she and Tatsu would just have to deal with the Black Snow headquarters alone, which was fine by her. But of course, she would prefer to have Bruce fighting next to her. Especially when he brought her and Tatsu their weapons.

Shifting her attention back to Tadaki, Diana smiled. "Excuse me for a while? My friend over there has something for me. I'll be back!"

With that, she flew off fast towards the Batman. Punching several guys and dodging many bullets on the way there, she noted that Batman would soon begin to display his command of Japanese sword arts. She had examined his swords in the Batwing on the way from _Junboku no Koya_ to Ginza, and was very pleased with their strength and beauty. But now, seeing Bruce in action with a pair of _katana_ and _wakizashi_, Diana couldn't help admiring the fine mixture of the man and his swords.

"Nice swords," she landed smoothly next to Batman, deflecting some bullets with her almost ruined _katana_.

"I can order you a pair later," Bruce commented matter-of-factly, and then tossed the bags he had been carrying to Diana. "Here's your stuff."

"Thanks! Just right in time," Diana grinned. Not wasting any time, she immediately opened her small bag, took out the lasso, and then swirled the lasso upon herself. A bright light covered Diana of Themyscira as she suddenly blurred out of everyone's vision, only to appear a second later in her complete Wonder Woman uniform. Her stained dresses, shoes and other undercover accessories were magically stored neatly inside the bag Batman carried earlier.

Diana threw the bag out of the way and turned to Bruce. "See you later!" Upon her remarks, she flew off, leaving the silent Batman with his opponents.

With her vambraces, it was easier for Wonder Woman to dodge all the attacks and fight back. She threw her lasso towards a bunch of Yakuza standing behind Shiori, and tossed them out of the way. She dove in next to Katana, grinned, gave her the other bag, then took off to Tadaki.

Quickly, Katana opened the bag and took Soultaker out. She didn't even bother to change her costume. She didn't have any vambraces or armor to protect her, but her loyal _katana_ was enough. She deliberately wore a Kenzo suit that was made of synthetic leather-like material that pretty much suited her performance tonight. It wasn't as comfortable as her warrior suit, but right now she just wouldn't bother to even put on her mask.

"Soultaker," she proclaimed proudly as the gray steel shone brightly beneath the fluorescent light. "You might want to be careful now."

Shiori snorted. "I've heard of your so called magical _katana_. I don't believe that, and I'm willing to prove it tonight."

Katana assessed her surrounding rapidly. If she and Shiori were going to have a duel, the space in this basement was just not going to be enough. More and more Yakuza coming in, and with Batman's presence, it would be very crowded and unpleasant for a descent fight. Upon meeting her for the first time, Katana had speculated Shiori's power from the way she brought herself, and she concluded that though this woman seemed to be supervised by Tadaki, actually her skill was beyond the grizzly man. Suddenly, Katana was very interested in testing her skill against Shiori.

"Not enough room." She simply commented.

Shiori smirked. "We'll go outside."

Then the Yakuza woman suddenly leapt towards Katana, and screamed the war cry, slicing her sword towards Tatsu's throat. Katana dodged the attack with Soultaker, impressed by the momentum of the two swords, and turned around to see that Shiori had ran towards the exit door. Without hesitance, Katana ran to follow her.

xxx

_Author's note:_

_Okay! As promised, the fight has started. And I can't tell ya how pleased I was to be able to write those scenes. Not that I'm blood-thirst or what, it's just that I was worried that I couldn't portray a descent Japanese sword fighting. _

_I chose to leave out Wonder Spin, and opted for the lasso to change Diana's costume. I've seen it before in the GA/SA WW comics, so it should be all right. Also, I am not really sure about the composition of Diana's vambraces (or bracelets), but it was definitely not only silver. The old Lynda Carter WW TV series mentioned 'Feminum' metal, but it sounds weird to me. So I chose the 'silver-amazonium' alloy, which sounds cool, IMHO._

_And for any Katana's fans, I hope I portrayed Tatsu correctly. She was basically written based on my memories on the early days of the pre-crisis Outsiders, a long long time ago._


	9. Duels in the Park

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Light II, and Katana belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix for the excellent beta readings._

**Chapter 9. Duels in the Park**

_Moonlit snowfields..._

_Here the bloodied samurai_

_cast their noble lives_

That particular _haiku_ (Japanese poem), written by Kikaku in the 17th century, suddenly popped into Tatsu's mind as she stood beneath the trees of Ginza Park. A few meters in front of her, Shiori stood tall, holding her black _katana_ in front of her solar plexus. There was a full moon that night, but there, of course, was no snow surrounding them, as it was a midsummer night in Tokyo. However, suddenly Katana felt cold as if a cold winter wind browsed her neck. She looked at her enemy in the eye, knowing that she was facing a deadly enemy.

"The police are coming," she spoke matter-of-factly.

"You think I will concede because the cops are here?" Shiori snorted, her eyes fixed at a point between her and Katana.

"No," Tatsu rotated her wrist to test her weapon, then shifted it above her head with both hands. "No, you won't."

"Then shut up."

The full moonlight penetrated the trees intermittently. Its silver threads fell upon both _katana_, reflecting the gleaming lethal rays of light.

xxx

A trained martial artisan, Bruce Wayne had gone to Japan many years ago to improve his fighting skills. Although he preferred unarmed combat, swordplay was his second favourite. And now, with glimmering swords in his hands, he felt as if his days in Japan were being re-enacted in front of him. He raised his _katana_ up above his head and held the _wakizashi_ in front of his sternum, slowly rotating his body to assess his enemies.

He swung his _katana_ downwards diagonally as his first assailant let out a loud cry and ran towards him. The attacker soon screamed again as Batman's _katana_ cut deeply his right hand, effectively incapacitating the Yakuza.

xxx

Wonder Woman ducked and parried another array of bullets fired towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katana run outside to chase the Yakuza girl, followed by several Yakuza men.

She frowned. She was not particularly worried about Tatsu – Gaea knew that her Japanese friend could defend her own life as well as her Amazon sisters could. She was more concerned with the passers-by, who no doubt soon would curiously, albeit fearfully, gather around Tatsu and Shiori to watch them fight.

Diana did not know what kind of Yakuza Shiori was. Despite her cruelty, the Yakuza girl might still play 'clean' by not taking innocent bystanders hostage. But what if Shiori was just another villain who would not hesitate to use anyone as a human shield? Diana knew that she had to go out and track Katana down. But what if the other men also ran out and followed her?

Raising her right arm to deflect a swinging _katana_, Diana made a quick decision. She punched several men next to her, crouching to sweep the leg of another Yakuza and knock him out, then ran towards the exit door while twisting the wrists and crunching the guns of anyone standing in her way. She glanced at Bruce, who had started swinging his swords towards his opponents, and decided that the Dark Knight was not in imminent danger at all.

xxx

That particular section of Ginza Park was in chaos. People had started to panic once they saw two women in blood-drenched clothes and holding shimmering swords, appear from behind the bushes. As Tokyo was the bustling capital city of Japan, it was inevitable that occasional gunfights happened in any corner of the city. However, Ginza Park was unlikely to be a battlefield, at least in the opinion of families, peaceful moon viewers, and passionate lovers who visited the Park that night in the hope of enjoying a lovely full moon in the city.

And as the two women shouted their war cries and started to leap towards one another, swords swinging at each other's throat, mothers and fathers also started to gather their children and hastily evacuated themselves from the areas. Nonetheless, some young passers-by stood still in awe, witnessing the deadly sword fighting in front of them that they thought only happened in movies.

xxx

While dodging several swords at one stroke, Batman made a roundhouse kick and introduced his thick boot sole to the jaw of another Yakuza sneaking behind him. Showing his excellent Aikido technique, he twisted the wrist of another man with one strong hand grab, making him unbalanced, and tossed him to the other corner of the room. He was almost enjoying this sword fight, although now and then he still had to cover himself with his Nomex-Kevlar cape from the bullets, only to destroy the guns a moment later with his sword. _Diana would crush the guns with her hands. I should tell her later that crunching guns with a katana is also a pleasure._

As he had planned earlier, Batman chose to disarm the gunmen (and women) first before handling the sword fighters. He was pleased with his decision. In Gotham, he rarely encountered such skilled swordsmen as the ones he fought now. Soon, he had reduced the number of opponents by a third, and only the swordsmen remained. The Dark Knight snorted. He was still safe and sound; not a single sword had touched his body.

"_Matte!_"

Suijiro raised his hand, ordering his men to cease the attack.

"I obviously misjudged you, Batman. I see that you are indeed a skilful samurai." The young godfather slowly approached the Caped Crusader, while his men quickly made way. "I was wondering if I can have this session for myself?"

Batman lowered both of his swords. "As you please."

Suijiro nodded briefly. "Your friends have gone outside to continue fighting. I must say it's a wise decision. I don't want my encounter with such a skilled swordsman like yourself to be hindered with all of these tables and chairs." He opened both arms, gesturing to the messy headquarters. "I shall meet you outside!"

Then suddenly, he threw several silver objects towards the Dark Knight and ran outside. Hastily, Batman swung his _katana_ several times to dodge the objects, only to find that they were several _shuriken_ (star-shaped Ninja throwing knife) towards his face. The Caped Crusader grimaced. Although his cape was lined with Nomex-Kevlar, he was not sure if the material would protect him from the lethally sharp _shuriken_.

_Having my swords was very handy this time_, he thought grimly as he rushed towards the exit to chase the Godfather.

xxx

"Aaarrrghh!" Tatsu cried as Shiori's sharp _katana_ cut deep into her left arm. She winced, feeling blood slowly ooze through her suit. "_Baka_!" she cursed. As she thought earlier, the Yakuza lady was fast. Very fast, catching her almost unprepared. Ignoring the pain in her arm, Katana jumped several steps behind, rethinking her strategy.

Shiori smirked. "A long time in America has weakened you, apparently. Shame on you."

xxx

With a simple push, Wonder Woman disengaged the wooden panel that covered the secret passage. She hauled herself out of the tunnel to find herself in a shabby shack full of used boards and piles of gardening supplies. A soft breeze from an open door blew through her hair. Her enhanced hearing detected rushing crowds outside the hut. She also realized that several Yakuza men were chasing her, and would arrive here very soon. Swiftly, the Amazon Warrior ran toward the door.

She found herself inhaling fresh air in a lovely park.

_Ginza Park_. She felt her skin caressed by the gentle breeze of the night wind, the same wind that caused the trees surrounding her to whisper restlessly. She wanted to close her eyes and enjoy the brief tranquillity of the garden. But she knew better that her warrior spirit would not let herself rest for a while. Tilting her head, she heard the sound of clanking swords in the distance. She flew westward once she plotted her trajectory.

xxx

"You arrogant witch!" Katana scowled. "This little wound won't stop me!" With that, she somersaulted twice towards her enemy, slicing her katana in a very calculated manner.

Smirking, Shiori jumped a few steps behind. But to her surprise, Katana changed her course mid-air, and used her _jujitsu_ technique to give a hard kick to Shiori's side. The Yakuza lady fell hard, her petite body crashing into a tree behind her. Blinking in surprise, she cursed in Japanese. But not for long, as Tatsu had run, swinging her swords towards her throat.

CLAAAANK!

Once again, two graceful but deadly swords collided in the air, causing both owners to step or crouch back to handle the momentum.

"You. Are. Not. Going. To. Kill. Me!" Katana growled, standing steadily after strengthening her position.

"I haven't even tried yet," Shiori's voice was firm, despite her aching arms due to the impact of their swords.

"Then try harder!" Tatsu swung her _katana_ diagonally as if to cut Shiori's body in two. As soon as Shiori deflected the attack, Katana withdrew her sword and sliced it backwards.

"Aaarrrghh!" The Yakuza lady screamed hard as her right thigh was introduced to Katana's sharp sword. Blood oozed through her once very neat trousers. "You bitch!"

Arching her eyebrows, Tatsu opened her mouth to snap back. But her very tuned sixth sense told her something was not right. In a split second, she turned just in time to see the flash of a gun – held by an Iwamura Yakuza standing a few meters away from her. She saw him in time to register that he had pushed the trigger, but not fast enough to move away from the bullet's trajectory. _I'll be damned..._

CLAAAANK!

Surprised, Katana turned to see what had kept her alive, or at least saved her from permanent heart damage. She found Wonder Woman standing in front of her, scrutinizing her, looking very concerned. The Amazon was still holding her right hand up after using her vambrace to block the bullet.

"You coward!" Diana yelled at the Yakuza man after she made sure that Tatsu was unharmed. She flew promptly towards the Yakuza and crunched his gun with one fluid hand movement. "This is a one-to-one duel; you should not interfere!"

Arriving a few minutes previously, Wonder Woman had witnessed a stunning sword fight between Katana and Shiori. Being a warrior herself, Diana understood the importance of one-to-one duel between two swordsmen (or women, in this case), and how no one else should get in their way. Thus, she spent a few minutes escorting the spectators away from the fighting field, while at the same time listening for any guns. As she had expected, after filtering other sounds, her ears detected a single 'click' of a gun, indicating that someone was about to play dirty.

"_Bakero_!" This time it was Shiori who barked. Winching in pain, the Yakuza woman pushed herself to stand upright, ignoring the sharp feeling in her thigh. "Uchida, I've told everyone to leave me alone with her!"

_So Shiori is a warrior as well_. Diana looked at the wounded woman with a different perspective. _I should not be worried, then._

"I...he told me to protect you..." the Yakuza, who turned out to be Uchida, Suijiro's second in command, murmured.

"I do not need his protection!" Shiori's face turned red, not because of the blood, but because of anger. Strays of her reddish hair fell on her delicate shoulders, framing her blood-stained face.

"It was his strict command!" Uchida volleyed back.

"Don't obey him in such a way that disgraces me in front of my enemies!" The Yakuza lady was in the brink of eruption. It was clear to both Diana and Tatsu that Shiori still held to the _bushido_, the Way of the Warrior, despite her involvement in Iwamura's activities. A strange paradox.

Tatsu decided that the delay was getting ridiculous.

"Look, I don't like you to ambush me like that," she retorted to Uchida. "But I also don't want you guys to shout at each other, leaving me and Wonder Woman idle here. Or shall we catch you now, while you're busy with each other?"

In another circumstance, Tatsu's words would make Diana laugh explosively. But at the moment, she just made herself ready in case Uchida decided to try another attempt. But as Shiori glared at Uchida, the Yakuza second in command just lowered his gaze, muttering, "Just be careful of your... It was his order."

Shiori frowned in annoyance, hissing in Japanese. "I can take care of my baby."

Katana could hear her opponent's complaint, but couldn't make out the coherent meaning. However, Diana's enhanced hearing enabled her to hear every word crystal clear.

"You are pregnant..." she blurted. _And she and Suijiro are lovers. Well... as good as a bastard like him can be._

Shiori jerked her head up. "So what? It's my womb, my decision," Raising her sword up high, she gestured Katana to prepare herself. "Let's go on."

Katana shook her head hastily. "No way. Not when you carry another life within you," Tatsu had been alarmed when she heard Diana's exclamation. Fierce as a female dragon she was, Tatsu was still a woman who treasured women's ability to carry babies and make new lives. Recalling that her sword had almost sliced Shiori's abdomen, Tatsu shuddered. Taking the life of a Yakuza like Shiori in a combat was one thing. Taking another life that resided within her as well...even unknowingly –was a very different thing for her.

Shiori sighed exasperatedly, then shouted her war cry, thrusting her sword towards Katana. With a fluid movement, Katana dodged the attack. When the angry Yakuza woman turned and continue fighting, Tatsu maintained her defence movements, careful not to hurt Shiori's front. After several dodging and parrying, Katana grew weary. She tilted her head and gestured to Wonder Woman. Soon, a flash of gold swirled around Shiori, catching her in one fluid movement.

"Now..." Holding her lasso in one hand, Diana ignored Shiori's curses. "...let's talk."

xxx

The Batman landed smoothly on the damp green grass, lifting both of his swords in defence. His cape billowing silently behind, the moonlight reflecting from his swords all added to his image as a dark spirit, which often appeared in any Japanese nightmares. Behind his cowl, he narrowed his eyes, measuring his opponent.

Suijiro also cast a glance at his adversary. The Bat in front of him reminded him of a haiku written by Buson, a famous poet of the 18th century.

_A bat flits_

_in moonlight_

_above the plum blossoms_

This Bat had not only flit under the perfect full moon; he had incapacitated many of his men. He was clearly a rival not to be underestimated under any circumstances. Suijiro's thought flew to his father, Masahiro. _He must be proud to see me in a fight like this._ Then the young Godfather mentally shook the thought away. _He's gone. Changed into a useless old man I don't recognise anymore. Now I'm alone, and I will defeat this intruder._

Both swordsmen silently moved in a big circle, trying to predict their enemy's strategy. The wind whispered through a thicket of bamboo trees, the bamboo leaves making rustling sounds. From afar, the hooting of an owl and the cawing of a crow added to the gruesome ambience of the surroundings. For a moment, time stopped for both of them.

Suddenly, with a deadly cry, Suijiro leapt forward, slicing both his crow-designed _katana_ and _wakizashi_ towards Batman's chest and legs. Without a word, Batman stood still, only moving to block Suijiro's swords with his own. Though he didn't show it, the Caped Crusader was surprised by Suijiro's strength and efficiency. He had known that the Godfather wasn't a mere swordsman. The son of a retired powerful godfather like Masahiro would have to be a dangerous adversary.

The Dark Knight somersaulted high, leaving the young _Daifu_ behind. Swiftly, he turned his body and slashed his katana towards his foe. Suijiro parried Batman's attack perfectly; extending the fight to several more minutes of hits and counter attacks.

Though Batman's first attention was to disable Suijiro as quickly as possible, their fight had changed his interest to a real one-to-one fight. So far, Suijiro had not produced his _shuriken_ at all, despite Batman's preparation of his own batarangs in defence. Surprisingly, the Godfather had maintained a fair sword fight, resulting in an impressive duel that would please the eyes of the spectators. Indeed, some park bystanders had changed their initial intention of fleeing for safety once they learned of a Yakuza fight in the Park. On the contrary, now they stood in awe, witnessing a rare treat of a traditionally dressed Japanese Godfather fighting a man dressed in a bat costume. The deadly beauty of a batcape swirling around, the black hakama whirling poetically, and silver lethal flashes of the swords was beyond words.

And then, the first blood was drawn. Suijiro began a series of attack-dodge-attack that forced Batman to make methodical retreat steps. But the Dark Knight's boots had no eyes. A bulge of root had hindered his movement just for a second, the exact time for Suijiro's _katana_ to slice Batman's arm. The Caped Crusader hissed as he dodged another attack. He hastily leapt backwards, not even paying attention to the deep cut in his left arm, focused solely on anticipation of another attack.

Smirking, the Godfather withdrew his swords to admire his cut. He swivelled his katana to casually rest on his right shoulder. The silver steel blade was now dripping in blood. He inhaled deeply.

"I love the smell of blood."

"Then bleed yourself!" Batman leapt forward again, aiming his katana to Suijiro's left side. All this time, he was buying himself time to assess his foe, to know his fighting strategy. Now he had everything he needed. _Just watch for roots_.

Aware of the attack, Suijiro raised his _katana_ to block. To his surprise, Batman's left hand swiftly moved in, introducing the bat _wakizashi_ to his right side. Suijiro cursed as a hot painful sensation tore his kimono and body. He quickly slashed his _katana_ toward the Batman, who had ducked to parry the sword, and neatly swept Suijiro's legs. The _Daifu_ dropped and gasped as suddenly Batman's _katana_ was pressed against his throat.

"Don't. Get. Up."

Suijiro cursed silently.

xxx

"Let go!"

"No. Now you have to tell the truth." Wonder Woman tightened her lasso in an attempt to stop Shiori's struggling.

"What truth?" the Yakuza shot back. Katana also wondered, but she merely raised an eyebrow.

Diana smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask you about the baby. That's your business." The ex-Princess of Themyscira stepped forward. "Bound by Gaea's Lasso of Truth, guided by Hestia's Fire, answer this question. Do you know anything about Akoya's murder?"

"What!" Katana blinked.

"What? What do you mean, 'Akoya's murder'?" Shiori's eyes widened in disbelief.

Now, it was Diana who blinked. "You don't know about Akoya's death? Suijiro's sister?"

The Yakuza woman struggled to remain silent for a while. Clearly, Shiori was trying to fight the lasso's power to no avail. "She...was shot during an accident in Shinjuku... a few years back."

That was correct. The woman did not lie. "Were you there that day?"

The Yakuza woman shook her head. "I was assigned to accompany Masahiro-san. I had just been part of the clan for a month then."

"So, you _weren't_ assigned to murder her." Wonder Woman frowned. "Who was?"

"What murder?" Instead of answering, Shiori was getting annoyed.

"So do you not know that Suijiro planned to murder his own sister?"

Shiori's face went pale. "He did what?" It was just a whisper.

xxx

The Batman glared at his fallen opponent. Though his attention was fully focused on Suijiro, he also realized that some spectators had dared to approach the fighting scene. _Not good. Not good at all. _

Suijiro smirked. The Caped Crusader had made him dropped both of his swords, as well as confiscated a _tanto_ (small dagger) and several _shurikens_ from his sash. Now, the Godfather rested his hand on his left side to stop the bleeding. "Where do you think I can go?" Then he tilted his head so slightly, barely perceptible, if not for the Batman, who suddenly turned his attention to the persistent audience. The Dark Knight tensed. Tadaki 'the bear' was holding a boy, pressing a gleaming _katana_ in his neck, while swiftly dragging him towards the two fighters but staying just out of Batman's reach.

"_Katana hose_!" the bearded Yakuza barked, instructing Batman to lower his sword.

Batman scowled. _Where's Diana?_ He knew he would have to let Suijiro go. The Godfather had killed his own sister. Suijiro wouldn't even blink at ordering to kill the boy.

"_Hose_!" Tadaki barked again, this time tightening his grip on the boy's body. The boy, around ten years old as Batman noted, had started to cry, while his parents were restlessly standing in horror among the panicked audience.

"I would let the sword down, if I were you," Suijiro commented casually. "Tadaki won't hesitate to decapitate the filthy boy."

Batman glared at the Godfather. His nightmare crept silently in front of him; the nightmare that had begun more than twenty years ago. Only this time, it would be the boy's parents who mourned over their child. _Still, a loss is a loss. I can't let it happen again. _

Scowling, he pulled Suijiro to his feet and walked him towards Tadaki and the boy. The boy's cries had become louder.

"You won't get away with this." His hand moved surreptitiously to his utility belt, ready should the Yakuza made another stealthy movement.

"Whatever you say," Suijiro walked slowly. When the distance to Tadaki was reduced to half, they stopped.

"Let. The. Boy. Go." Batman growled.

"Let Suijiro-san go first." Tadaki answered in Japanese.

Batman studied the boy carefully. As far as he could tell, the boy wasn't hurt at all. Physically, at least. But the boy would have to go through this nightmare for quite some time before getting rid of the shock from tonight. The Caped Crusader grimaced. _Not again. Not another nightmare._

"Together then," he replied, also in Japanese.

Tadaki looked at Suijiro for directions, and after another gesture from his boss, the bearded Yakuza pushed the boy away. At the same time, Batman also pushed the Godfather, watching carefully as he walked toward the boy.

Then it happened. So quickly, Suijiro leapt forward, grabbing the boy in his arms, and placed a hand on his neck, ready to choke the child. Batman cursed silently as he took out a batarang.

"Don't be silly, Batman." Suijiro flashed his cruellest smile. "I don't have the katana with me, but I can still easily break his neck in two." Tadaki approached the _Daifu_, handling him the katana. "Though... now I have a sword here. So I can choose between breaking his neck, or slicing him thinly."

"You won't do that." Batman's composure denied his trepidation over the boy. _I won't let another child die tonight..._

"Ah. Such a spirit." Suijiro smirked again. "And why would I not do that?"

"Because I say so." This time, it wasn't the Batman who answered.

Curiosity took its toll as both Batman and Suijiro (and even Tadaki) turned to see the person who had spoken. From the crowds stepped a bald elderly man, dressed in simple grey kimono and brown hakama, carrying a pair of swords.

Batman had known that the man would come. But he wasn't expecting him to come right at that moment.

Fugen, the simple Zen monk formerly known as Iwamura Masahiro, the _Daifu_ of the Iwamura clan, strode slowly but surely towards his son.

xxx

_Author's note:_

_Sorry for the loooooong delay. Like, four months? Between Chapter 8 and 9, I gotta finish my thesis. And now, it's not even submitted yet. Aarrrggghhh!_

_I also have this new hobby of reading (not yet composing) haiku. So, bare with me...I've inserted two haikus here. I might insert one or two more in the next chapters if I find the suitable ones._


	10. Battle of the Crows

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_The finale of the Black Snow drama. Fugen the monk has arrived at the battlefield. Will he help Suijiro, the Godfather of Iwamura clan, or turned away from his son? Will Batman, Katana, and Wonder Woman take the matter into their own hands?_

_Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Light II, and _Katana _belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix for the excellent beta reading and to Lamont Mallory for the character of Capt. Kisagi of the Tokyo Police Dept._

**Chapter 10. Battle of the Crows**

Silence crept through the whole Ginza Park. The soft breeze carried away the rustling song of the bamboo thickets and the sound of a _sakuhachi_ (Japanese flute) played by a musician in the neighboring Kabukiza. No one budged an inch from his or her current position; everyone was holding their breath to see the event in front of them. For them, time stopped for a while.

Suijiro, the cold-blooded Godfather of the Iwamura clan, his kimono darkened from the blood oozing from wound on his side, grasped a crying little boy and pressed a _katana_ on the boy's neck.

Batman, the Dark Knight of Gotham, blood dripping from his left arm, stood still, ready to strike to save the boy.

Fugen, a.k.a. Iwamura Masahiro, stopped a few paces before the Godfather, both shoulders relaxed, gripping a _katana_ and _wakizashi_, giving no sign whether he would immediately use the weapons.

"You will let the boy go," the bald Zen monk finally spoke again.

Suijiro squinted. "You have no right to give orders now!"

"I am not giving an order. I am telling you what a wise decision you should make instead of all this madness."

"Don't preach, old man! You don't belong here!" the young Godfather scolded, then barked to his men who had been gathering around them. "You all! Don't just stand there! Get this monk out of my sight!"

Yet, none of the Iwamura Yakuza moved an inch. After all, Fugen was Iwamura Masahiro, the first and the most respectful Godfather of the clan. None of Suijiro's men dared to approach the old monk, let alone arrest him.

Suijiro squinted, fuming at his men's disobedience.

"You cowards! You're no use to me now!" He turned again to the bald monk. "You! Go back to your shabby shack!"

Fugen's lips formed a rueful smile.

"Believe me, of all the places I would rather not be, this is the utmost." He sighed heavily. "Alas, my karma has led me here once again."

"What – now you want to reclaim all that you left before?"

"Not at all. I have vowed not to take anything that is not mine to take. Including...your so-called kingdom."

Suijiro frowned. "Then, what are you doing here!"

"As I told you before." The old monk looked at the Godfather in the eye. "I want to advise you to let the boy go."

"No way in hell! He's the key to my freedom!" Suijiro pulled the boy closer to his body, pressing his _katana_ harder. As blood started to trickle from the very thin incision he made, the boy started to cry harder.

"Don't you dare!" Batman growled, jumping a few steps ahead. He abruptly stopped when Suijiro glared, threatening to apply more pressure to the sword.

"_Matte_, Batman-san." The calm voice of Fugen brought his attention back to strategic thinking.

The Dark Knight turned abruptly to the older man. "He has to be stopped."

"Will you please, if you could, let me try?" This time, the monk turned to face him.

To the Batman, the effect of Fugen's voice resembled the way J'onn J'onzz affected him. As he considered the Martian Manhunter as one of his best allies, Batman always took extra effort to make sure that the alien's advice was not ignored. The Caped Crusader realized that he felt the same way about Fugen, despite the short period of their acquaintance.

He looked Fugen in the eye, then nodded briefly. "Better make it quick."

Fugen bowed, then turned back to Suijiro. Although he had been speaking English, he now switched to Japanese.

"You heard what I said, Son. Let the boy go."

"You don't get to call me that! You're not my father!"

Batman frowned. The Japanese words Suijiro used were not polite, let alone the proper way to talk to a monk. Or one's own father, for that matter.

"Suijiro...Son..."

"My father's dead! He's a coward, and he's dead now!"

Fugen closed his eyes briefly. When he opened his eyes again, there was another aspect within him that Batman hadn't seen before.

"Jiro-chan..."

Suijiro blinked. 'Jiro-chan' had been his nickname when he was a child. "Shut up! Don't call me that!"

"Jiro-chan, why do you do this? Why don't we talk now?"

"Shut up, I say! Don't treat me like a child! I'm not your child!"

"Jiro-chan, do you remember the time when your mother and I took you to the zoo? She bought you an ice cream, and I showed you the elephants?"

"Stop! You liar! My mother never took me to the zoo. She was already dead when I was a baby!"

Fugen sighed, his eyes full of regret. Yet, he resumed talking.

"You were merely ten years old, then. The same age as the boy in your hands."

"No!"

"Jiro-chan. Let the boy go. Please. We can talk about this. I forgive you."

The Godfather snorted. "Forgive! What's to forgive?"

"I forgive you..." another glint of sadness in Fugen's wrinkled eyes. "...for what you have done to your sister."

Suijiro gritted his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about." Unaware, he loosened his grip on the boy. The boy himself was tired of crying. Now, his cries had trailed off into whimpers.

"You are well-versed with what I am talking about." Fugen turned to Batman, still speaking in Japanese. "You were right all along, Detective. I have been busy denying the knowledge that I already acquired, because I was too scared to face the truth. Not anymore."

_So he knows who I am. Talking about being a detective..._ But instead, Batman only nodded once more.

"Admit what you did, Jiro-chan. And we will start all over again," Fugen took one step towards Suijiro. The Godfather stepped back.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"Oh, yes, you do." This time, Batman couldn't help interjecting. He continued in Japanese. "You were there in Shinjuku when the gunfire happened. You were hiding, so none of your Yakuza saw you. Then a Hayada Yakuza started to fire at Akoya's location. Seemingly, it was a random shot in a battle, but you had actually paid him to kill your sister. Then after he finished his job, you killed him as well."

Fugen's expression indicated that he'd heard the story before. He nodded ruefully. "Great deduction, Detective."

Suijiro, pale-faced for a split second, barked again. "Great delusion, I say! What proof do you have?"

"Wrong question, _Daifu_!" Batman riposted, smirking at the Godfather. "You should say things like 'how could I kill my own sister', or something similar. Your last question just confirmed your involvement in the Shinjuku gunfire."

"Bullshit!"

The Dark Knight's smirk didn't waver. "Tell that to the police once they see the evidence."

Fugen sighed. "You still have a chance, Jiro-chan. The boy you are holding captive now might have a sister. Please, don't make her lose her brother because of your anger and jealousy."

"Stop calling me that silly name! That boy is dead already!"

Fugen shook his bald head. "No. He's not dead yet. He's just hiding somewhere in your heart, trying to deny that his father and stepmother loved him the same way as they loved his sister. Trying to ignore the pain of love he always rejected, because he believes that love does not exist."

"Shut. Up!"

"Tell me, Jiro-chan. Why? Have I not loved you enough? Did Ayame treat you differently from Akoya? Why?"

The Godfather stood still, his sword was still at the boy's neck.

"Your sister loved you very much. Did you know that she knew that you were her half-brother? Even so, she loved you still. Why?"

Suijiro jolted. "Because you left Mother for her and her mother! For the two filthy women!" He yelled again, "And you killed Mother!"

For the first time since Batman met Fugen, he saw the monk glaring. "I did not!"

"You did! You rejected her. You let Mother die in despair. You killed her!"

Fugen sighed and closed his eyes again. "Believe me, had I known that she was planning to end her life like that, I –"

"You would what! Stop her and marry her? Leave that Ayame woman for her?"

"Perhaps." He opened his eyes again, looking right at his son. "Anything to stop her suicide."

Suijiro clenched his jaw. "Well, it's a bit too late, now, isn't it!"

"Yes. And I'm so sorry, my son..."

"Told you, I'm not your son!"

"Yes, you are. I still consider you my son, ever after all you've done to your sister."

The young Godfather snorted again.

"Why, Suijiro? Why did you kill your own sister? She would not get in your way to own the clan. She did not even desire it. I would have given the clan to you for free. Why!"

A cruel smile flashed at Suijiro's handsome face.

"As you just said, _Father_. Because she was in my way."

A sharp intake attracted Batman's attention, diverting him from the surprise of learning Suijiro's first-hand confession .

Guarded closely by Katana, Shiori – the guard and lover of Suijiro – stood still in the perimeter of the crowds. The female Yakuza trembled, refused to believe what she had just heard of. Next to her, stood Uchida, Suijiro's second in command, gaping in disbelief.

Another surprise was prepared for the Godfather, as a flash of red, blue, and gold unexpectedly swept away the sobbing boy from him. Suddenly, he found himself holding nothing. Instead, he was staring at the boy who had reappeared at a safe distance from him, carried and protected by Wonder Woman.

xxx

"I asked her earlier to intervene." Fugen casually answered Batman's unasked inquiry in English. "We needed the element of surprise."

The Dark Knight agreed. "Good choice. I take it that you need time with him now?"

"Yes, thank you. Please secure the spectators." Fugen responded without letting his attention to Suijiro down. Without waiting for Batman's answer, he walked towards the Godfather.

"It ends now, Son. Give up and face the consequences."

The Godfather growled and shifted his _katana_ in front of him. "Never!"

Fugen squinted. "You want to fight me?"

"You're not blind. What, you think I will just give up like that!" He gestured to Tadaki, who tossed him his _wakizashi_ after a moment of hesitance.

"I thought you were wise enough to give up."

"And let the whole Empire fall!" Placing the _wakizashi_ in defense, he spat on the ground. "Sorry! I'm not a coward like you!"

"What we did was wrong! It took Akoya's death to make me realize how wrong I was."

"To you. To me, it has never been better."

"You're losing your mind, Son."

"You just found out?"

xxx

"Batman."

"Good timing, Wonder Woman."

"Your arm...is it okay?"

"Don't worry about me. Is the boy...?"

"He will be fine." Diana gently wiped a drop of blood away from the boy's neck. Still cradling the boy in her embrace, she approached his parents. Speaking in Japanese, she handed the boy to them. "Go home directly now. Put him to bed after a glass of hot milk or tea. He will be fine in the morning." After a thought, she added. "Kannon blesses him." Kannon in the Japanese belief, or Kuan Yim in the Chinese belief, was the Goddess of Compassion, the equivalent of Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth and Gaea, the Mother Earth.

The boy's parents nodded, muttered their gratitude, and hastily left the park.

As Wonder Woman escorted the small family, the Batman and Katana were busily dismantling all the Yakuza. It wasn't a very hard job to do, as Suijiro's revelation had reduced their respect for the young Godfather significantly. For them, killing enemies was nothing special. Yet, killing one's own sister, albeit half-sister, especially a lovely girl like Akoya, was evil. Tadaki's hesitance in handling his boss the _wakizashi_ was the proof. That was the last order he would take from Suijiro.

Cautiously caressing her womb, Shiori looked at Katana hopelessly. "I didn't know...I swear, I didn't know..."

Tatsu pursed her lips. Despite their previous battle, she realized that this woman was telling the truth. She nodded. "I know."

A crying siren from the Park's entrance notified her of the arrival of the Tokyo policemen. She greeted a swift breeze behind her in Japanese.

"How's Narita?"

"Secured completely," was the answer she got from Dr. Light who had just landed. "Should I help with Suijiro over there?"

"Kimi –" Tatsu turned to face her old friend. " – You _so_ don't want to interfere."

xxx

"Gonosuke would be ashamed of you now! You've disgraced his teaching!" Suijiro growled, only to receive a remorseful smile from his father.

"Retrospectively, he and I had both disgraced the teaching of the Way. He was guilty, and so was I. And you, too."

"Screw the Way!"

Fugen squinted. "Do not taint the nobility of the Way of the Warrior with your emotion, Son! It will only accelerate your downfall."

"Stop preaching about _Bushido_, and start fighting, old man!"

"You know well that you can not defeat me."

"Say you, an old monk from a rustic mountain temple! You have no idea what I have achieved so far!" Suijiro raised his _katana_ above his head and placed the _wakizashi_ in a blocking stance in front of his solar plexus.

Fugen sighed. "If that's your decision –"

"Finally you got it!"

" – then please be prepared." He bowed deep to his son, now his opponent, without receiving one back. With one swift movement, he drew his _katana_ and _wakizashi_ from their scabbards, both with the same crow patterns as his son's had. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, placing both of his swords at the same position as Suijiro's. A moment later, he snapped his eyes open.

Fugen the monk had disappeared. Iwamura Masahiro took his place.

xxx

The Batman had met and fought several great swordsmen (or women) in his whole career as the Dark Knight of Gotham. Some of them, like Ra's al-Ghul, were highly trained ruthless people that would kill innocent people without hesitance to achieve their goals. Some, like the most famous assassin Lady Shiva, did not have the acute classical desire to rule the world, but would definitely kill for money, or for vengeance. Some, like Diana of Themyscira, Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall, or the Black Canary would die gallantly defending what they believed in. The Caped Crusader had fought many types of swordsmen and women, and believed that he had seen all the great many forms of martial arts.

But now, part of his mind was busy searching for memories of his fights with any reformed swordsmen who truly deserved his attention. Result: none as he could register. Surely the reformed Catwoman was a great fighter (and comrade), and so was Cassandra Cain, whom he had encountered prior to her Batgirl days. Yet, none of them were particularly specialized in swords fighting.

Thus, as he was sure that it would be difficult for him to be able to witness such a fine display of martial art in the future, he was engrossed in watching, and even enjoying, the fight between Masahiro and Suijiro, father and son of the Iwamura clan.

The old crow versus the young crow.

The wind suddenly blew harder, causing the restless bamboo leaves to whisper ruefully.

xxx

Suijiro had hated his half-sister Akoya ever since he had learned that Kayo, his own mother, died because the young Masahiro had rejected her love. Although Ayame, Masahiro's legitimate wife and his stepmother, had always been kind to him, he had blamed her for what happened to Kayo. He had also envied Akoya, for he had always feared that Masahiro would give the clan leadership to her instead of him.

When he had managed to eliminate his sister, he had hoped that his father would announce him as the next _Daifu_ of the clan. Instead, the old Godfather had disappeared, leaving the throne to him by default.

He should have been happy then, as finally he had become the Godfather of the clan. Instead, he had felt anger and jealousy. Such was his father's love for Akoya that the former Godfather would rather leave the clan upon her death, instead of renouncing the title properly and delivering it to him, his other child.

Through his immense network, Suijiro had found out that his father had resided in the mountains, taking the name of Fugen, an old Zen monk. Once, he had sent a messenger to Fugen's hideout, asking him to return to the clan and become his advisor. Not only had his father rejected the request, he had even moved out of the place, becoming untraceable even for Suijiro's spies.

Ever since, the young Godfather had stopped thinking of his father. For Suijiro, Iwamura Masahiro had died. He had never acknowledged Fugen as anything related to him. To him, his father's disappearance was an act of cowardice and lack of paternal love. Thus, hurt by the rejection, Suijiro had grown darker and had expanded his kingdom in manners even avoided by Masahiro in his glorious days.

Now, the young Godfather looked his opponent, his own father, in the eye. Only several minutes had passed since both of them drew out their swords and stared at each other. Yet, to Suijiro, it seemed like an eternity.

His hands grew weary from maintaining the same pose without moving an inch. He remembered that his father was very good at waiting in a firm pose for a long time, something that he had found very hard to master due to his own impatience. He had expected that all the time as a monk would have reduced Masahiro's fighting skills. Alas, it had not. Instead, now the former Godfather stared at him with a mixture of calmness and utmost intensity. Suijiro cursed. He should be moving soon, but methodically, if he wanted to win the battle.

Yet, unconsciously, his own feet had moved a bit during the waiting. _Baka! _He had lost the first and most important stage of battle: the patience to wait.

He frowned. _This is ridiculous! No one makes me wait this long!_

With a deadly battle cry, Iwamura Suijiro charged forward, attacking his own father.

xxx

Irony was a close friend of Life. However beautiful Life was, we often found Irony lurking nearby; ready to destroy the peace one felt. Only with heightened awareness could one see behind the ironic moments and find the one of the essence of Life within. That everything happened as it should be. That somehow, everything that happened was either our responsibility, or it was there to teach us a lesson.

As a Zen monk, Fugen had learned that all karma would eventually return to him, and there would be no way out for him. He and he alone should face whatever the result of what he had done in the past.

Hence, when his senses detected the hasty attack of his own son, Fugen realized that he was merely paying for his karma for all the bad deeds he had conducted or initiated during his days as Iwamura Masahiro. His only hope was that he wouldn't have to hurt Suijiro in a defense attempt. That would be an irony indeed, hurting his son in order to save him from further damage.

However, he found it so hard to restrain himself from making dangerous counterattacks. During the years of his seclusion, Suijiro's methods had indeed evolved into more lethal ones, such that it was almost impossible for him to stop the battle without hurting the young Godfather. Suijiro's attacks had been very organized so far, despite his rage and palpable desire to incapacitate his father in the shortest amount of time.

Thus, what Masahiro had only lifted his _katana_ and _wakizashi_ to dodge, parry, and block, in the hope of making his son understand. Alas, to no avail. Suijiro interpreted the very fact that his father had been conducting defense movements as an act of weakness, instead of wisdom. And that had added fuel to the young _Daifu's_ rage.

"Don't just block and run away, old monk! Surely you're better than that! Or has the time in all those shabby monasteries made you weak!" He somersaulted twice, sweeping his _katana_ towards his father's chest and his _wakizashi_ towards Masahiro's stomach. What Masahiro did was merely leaping behind and stepping backwards smoothly; his own _katana_ deflecting his son's sword. A very simple movement it seemed, but actually it could only be done after years of disciplined training.

"Don't run, you old bald man! Face me and fight like a man!" Suijiro made another slice and a roundhouse kick, combining _kendo_ and _jujitsu_ at the same time. Again, Masahiro only arched backwards so near to the ground, crossing both of his swords in front of him to block the Godfather's _katana_. Immediately, the old monk sprang forwards once more with the solid strength of his feet and spine.

"A true Samurai knows that retreat is also a form of fighting," he simply commented as he leapt sideways, trying to get some space and (again) inject some common sense into Suijiro's mind.

"No! That is an act of fear! Of cowards!"

"If you paid attention to those lessons years ago – " Masahiro resumed calmly, " – you would realize that not all retreat should be interpreted as defeat. Instead, they might be giving you chance to surrender peacefully."

"Preacher! Shut up and fight!"

Suddenly, silver flashes flew towards Masahiro's face and body. Eyes widened, but in complete defense, the former Godfather danced, slicing his swords several times to dodge the silver things. A few seconds later, he squinted, looking grimly at the scattered _shurikens_ on the ground.

"You do realize, Son, that I could've incapacitated you much earlier on. Had I wanted to, that is."

Suijiro snorted. "Please, _Father_, do not insult me! Do you think I cannot defeat an old monk like you?"

"You obviously haven't succeeded so far."

"You wait a minute or two!" Suijiro leapt forward again, slicing both of his swords everywhere. "Soon, I will buy my own freedom and get the hell out of this place!"

"Just like you bought the whole clan!" Once again, his father merely made some smooth blocking movements, then jumped backwards. "By eliminating your own sister!"

"Oh…pleaaaasseeee…. Father!" Suijiro cast his eyes heavenwards. "Stop preaching!"

The former Godfather sighed. "You really want me to teach you a lesson, don't you?"

"Like you could!" his son snorted.

"Very well, then." Masahiro positioned his _katana_ on top of his head, his _wakizashi_ in front of his solar plexus. His eyes flashed in a way they had never been for so long. "Otherwise, we won't finish until sunrise."

Suijiro opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly went silent as his father charged him with a deadly cry. His arrogance melted immediately, replaced by an unexplained nervousness.

xxx

Then, it happened so quickly. The young Godfather anxiously lifted his swords to parry Masahiro's attack. The first set of his blocks only left him with such a pain at his arms, a sign of how powerful his father's attack had been. Hastily, Suijiro slide a few steps behind to buy himself some space. He looked at his father, and his heart sank.

Masahiro was looking at him the way a tiger gazed at his prey. Gone was Iwamura Masahiro, his father, let alone the compassionate Zen monk Fugen who had disappeared without a trace. Now, the Masahiro he faced was the powerful Godfather, back in his glorious day, when he could single out all his formidable enemies alone.

_I have to get out of this place!_ Inhaling deep, Suijiro lifted both of his swords, welcoming Masahiro's charge.

CLANKKKK!

The momentum of both _katana_ was again too strong for the young Godfather to receive. Shaking miserably, he tried to lift his _wakizashi_ for another attack, only to get a deep slice on his arm and a roundhouse kick from his father, right on the wound Batman's sword had created before. His body flew away, crashing a tree nearby, slouching helplessly.

"This time, no hostages!" Masahiro suddenly reappeared, towering above him, pointing his _katana_ on his neck. "Or I will cut your hands. And by the souls of Kayo, Ayame, and Akoya –" he squinted, " – I mean it."

Suijiro swallowed hard, and dropped his stance.

xxx

The Tokyo policemen had just taken away the handcuffed Iwamura Suijiro to the Tokyo Police Headquarter. He had been completely silent during the arrest. Yet, when Captain Kisagi dragged him mercilessly away to the police car, he started to curse and yell.

"I'm your son! You can't do that to me! I'm your _son_!"

Dr. Light had expected that Masahiro would say something like 'I have no son like you!' or another similar line. However, the former Godfather, who had transformed back to Fugen the Zen monk, just studied his captured son carefully, and gestured him a blessing hand.

"It was very generous of you to let him go," Kimiyo bowed to the bald monk. "I truly admire you for that."

"I could do no more and no less than that, Dr. Light," Fugen returned the bow solemnly. "It was my _dharma_ as a worthless father to return him to the proper path of the Way. If he could only understand that."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that you're worthless," Katana approached the monk as well. "After all, you did raise a good daughter. And you fought gallantly."

"Katana-san is too humble," Fugen bowed again. "You are an excellent fighter as well."

"Not compared to you, I'm afraid. Glad that I don't have to fight against you, Fugen-san."

Fugen attempted to make another comment, but halted when he saw a slender figure walking by.

"Excuse me, Ladies," he excused himself and walked towards the figure.

"Shiori…"

"Masahiro-san," the blood-drenched Shiori immediately bowed deep upon recognizing her former chief.

"Don't bow so deep for me," Fugen waved his hand. "Not good for the baby. And my name is Fugen."

"Fugen-san…" Shiori still maintained her bow, her eyes started to become misty.

"I have a favor to ask you, though."

"Yes, Fugen-san?" she dared herself to look at the monk. "Anything for you."

"Do take care of yourself. And when the baby is born, please bring him or her to me. This grandfather-to-be would like to hug the baby for a while."

The fierce Yakuza lady felt her throat clog up. She finally muttered shakily, silver rivers starting to run down her cheek. "Yes, of course…Fugen-san. Anytime."

xxx

Finishing their usual international League procedures with the police, Batman (his arm already mended) and Wonder Woman found Fugen talking silently to Captain Kisagi. The heroes approached the monk, who was exchanging goodbyes with the Japanese policeman.

"Ah, Batman-san. Diana-san." Fugen greeted them earnestly.

"That was a great fight you had there," Batman commented.

"And a great resolution, as well," Wonder Woman noted. "I should invite you to Themyscira sometimes."

Fugen smiled. "That would be an honor, indeed. If I have the time, of course."

Wonder Woman looked the bald monk in the eye.

"Where are you going now?" she whispered.

"The police need some information from Masahiro, so I'm afraid he has to come."

"Will you be all right? Will _he_ be all right?"

"I appreciate your concerns, Diana-san. Fugen has paid his karma, so he is content. Masahiro... well, this is his final business in this world. Afterwards, he will retreat back to the mountains, and disappear completely."

"Do you need help?" Batman spoke his concern as well.

"If you are implying whether the police will arrest Masahiro, yes, that might happen. Just let him go through it by himself. It was his karma, anyway. But as he has Fugen as his friend, he might not need to be arrested at all. Either way, both Masahiro and Fugen are in peace."

Fugen weighed his crow-patterned _katana_ and _wakizashi_, thinking. "I have planned to throw away these swords."

"Don't!" came the rapid respond from the Dark Knight. "You might still need them to teach the proper _Bushido_ to any sincere samurai that seeks your blessings."

"Ah..." The monk smiled. "And if I still keep them, will I be able to spar with you both sometime? I might be able to give some advice, and receive some in return."

As his answer, Batman bowed deeply. "It will be an honor for me."

Wonder Woman bowed as well. "I will be looking forward to it."

"So will I." Fugen also bowed. "I have one last question for you, Batman-san."

"Yes?"

"Do you truly have evidence of what you said before?"

"About the Shinjuku gunfire?" He smirked. "No. As you said, it was a good deduction. Do _you_ have the proof?"

This time, the monk smirked ironically as well. "No. It just came to me when I thought about it after you two left _Junboku no Koya_. It just...made sense. Though it's also ironic..."

Diana interjected, "That a brother could kill his own sister? Or half-sister?"

"Well...yes..." Closing his eyes, Fugen sighed again. "Masahiro didn't raise a good son, I'm afraid."

"Yet he did raise a good daughter." Diana gave the old monk a warm smile. "She and his wife must be very proud of him now."

He opened his wrinkled eyes, looking at her in the eye. "I hope so."

"Does Fugen now have regrets?" Bruce couldn't help asking.

"Regrets? Bruce-san... I have left my old life behind. Regrets...you might think that I am so inconsiderate, but I'd say that I've thrown the pieces of my regrets away, gone with the wind of the past." He looked alternately at the couple in front of him.

"I just wished...that I could see my daughter once again." His lips formed a remorseful smile. "A wasteful wish of an old man, I'd say."

With that, Fugen bowed and slowly turned to walk away, whispering a verse that was soon carried away by the night breeze.

_You are plum blossoms on the water_

_Petals floating by till they pass out of sight_

_I am a willow growing by the stream_

_My shadow is sunk in it, and I cannot follow_

Bowing back, Bruce recognized the _Song of the Yodo River_, written by the poet Buson in the 18th century. He sighed silently. Behind his cape, his hand surreptitiously searched and held Diana's. He turned to look at the Amazon Warrior, to find her misty azure eyes staring at the old monk, the father of a defeated son and a deceased daughter, the former powerful godfather, leaving the stage after taking his final curtain call.

-to be concluded-

_Author's note:_

_For those of you who are disappointed that Batman or Wonder Woman didn't incapacitate Suijiro in the end, I apologize for that. When I created Iwamura Masahiro, I didn't plan him to return to bring his son to justice. But I grew fond of Masahiro, a character I based on the image of Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto in the 'Last Samurai'. So, well, for those who don't mind Masahiro becoming the savior of the day, I hope you like him in this chapter. Oh, and in Junboku no Koya, Bruce was the real Bruce, who were familiar with Japanese tradition. His body language resembled samurai's body language, instead of a playboy's. Hence, Fugen's immediate recognition that Bruce Wayne was the Batman._

_Next: A special romantic evening for Bruce and Diana to wrap up their 'holiday' in Japan. And you know what I mean by 'special'..._


	11. The Way of the Sword

**The Black Snow**

**By Icha**

**Rating: K+**

_Black Snow epilogue. Bruce takes Diana to a small village to meet his old friend and spends a day in a remote area of Japan. And there's the swords, the rain, and the wet kimono...Well…you know what they would do in addition to discussing the grandeur of katana making._

_Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Light II, and Katana belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Athena Phoenix for the excellent beta reading and all the readers who have kept me writing this story. Your feedback has truly encouraged me to go on._

_Tips: this chapter is bloody long. If you prefer not to read about Japanese swords (Nihonto), you can directly jump towards third a section to the end to more exotic moments. However, I suggest you read the front section later on. Nihonto is actually very interesting to learn._

**Chapter 11. The Way of the Sword**

The local inhabitants of the remote village at the slope of Mount Fuji were used to strangers. Now and then, they would find visitors, either Japanese or foreigners, coming to their village for some reason. Yet, it had been a while since they had met such a fine young couple, strolling leisurely along the lane to Old Makoto's place.

Little Sachiko blinked several times. The twelve-year-old girl remembered the story her mother told her about Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess of Ancient Yamato. It was said that Amaterasu had long raven hair, flowing gently in the wind. Her skin was the color of white lotus. Her eyes, bright as the fire of Phoenix, were sharp yet compassionate, always blessing everyone she encountered.

_I must be dreaming. Amaterasu is not real._ Sachiko rubbed her eyes. But…she was here. The lady that was approaching her now…she was too beautiful to be an ordinary woman.

And the gentleman walking next to her, leisurely yet protectively: Sachiko-chan had never seen a man as striking as he was. Clearly, he was not Japanese. But his body language and firm steps resembled those of the samurai she had seen in movies. The ivory kimono and indigo _hakama_ he wore enhanced the very image of a skilled samurai. He brought a long black wooden box that seemed to contain something very important.

"Little girl, may we ask you something?" the lady's warm greeting startled Sachiko. The lady's azure eyes mesmerized her. _Bright azure eyes._ So, she wasn't Japanese either. Unless she wore those magical contact lenses. Sachiko had learned about colorful contact lenses that could change the color of one's eyes just like that. One of her friend's distant aunties who lived in Kobe even had some.

Yet, the lady's eyes seemed so real. She was very enchanting anyway; Sachiko couldn't imagine why the lady would use artificial color to cover her lovely eyes.

"Did you use the correct Japanese?" the gentleman spoke. Sachiko didn't understand him. He must be speaking in another language. "She didn't seem to decipher your message."

"But, I did!" the lady turned to her friend, talking in similar language. "I used the proper Japanese."

The gentleman chuckled. Sachiko loved to hear him chuckling. "Ah, perhaps _that's_ the mistake. We might need to use _improper_ Japanese. What did you say again to her just now?" Again, Sachiko did not understand his words, but it seemed that the lady was a bit annoyed.

The fine lady rolled her eyes and said, "Little girl, may we ask you something?" in Japanese. Sachiko understood her clearly, but the lady did not seem to address her. Instead, she was addressing the gentleman, a bit defiantly.

"Yes, I can!" out of the blue, Sachiko heard herself blurting. "You can ask me!"

Both of her visitors turned to her in surprise.

"You can?" the gentleman asked her, in Japanese this time.

"I told you, I spoke properly," the lady smirked and spoke again in the previous foreign language, addressing Sachiko. "Little girl, we would like to ask directions."

"You want to meet a friend?" Sachiko blushed at her own boldness. Yet, she did not know the proper way of addressing a lady as beautiful as Amaterasu Omikami, who dressed in such a fine ivory silk kimono and marshmallow pink _haori_.

"_Hai_," this time, the gentleman answered her. He then squatted on the grass, maintaining the same eye level with her. Sachiko blinked again, couldn't maintain eye contact with the deep blue eyes of the visitor. _Merciful Buddha. Was Hikaru Genji, the Shining Prince, this handsome?_

"Little girl, we would like to find a friend. His name is Makoto. He is a swordsmith. Do you know him?"

His Japanese was simple, yet not unkind. Sachiko had the feeling that he could use more complex words, yet he opted not to. Good for him. She might not understand him in return.

"Makoto?" The foreign 'Hikaru Genji' nodded slightly. "I know Makoto! You want to see him?"

The gentleman chuckled. "He is my old friend. I want to pay him a visit."

Sachiko grinned excitedly. Makoto's place was right at the end of the lane.

"Come! I'll show you his place. It's not far! Come!"

She darted towards the end of the lane. As the ultimate kid sprinter of the village, she half expected the foreigners to encounter difficulties in following her. To her dismay, both of them tailed her very closely. Heh. Even the lady in the kimono!

Sachiko kept running, passing by a lotus pond, towards a small hut hidden beneath a thicket of pine trees. Yet, suddenly she screeched to a stop.

"Makoto-san!" she yelled at a figure crouching next to some shrubs, a small bamboo casket on his side.

"Sachiko-chan?" the figure, a man with a grayish beard, tilted his head. "_Nani ka_?"

"I bring you some friends!" Sachiko jogged towards the man, who shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun of Fujiyama and squinted to see his visitors. Suddenly, his wrinkled eyes widened in surprise.

"Bruce-san!"

"Konnichiwa, Makoto-san!" Bruce Wayne smiled widely and greeted him. "How's life been treating you?"

xxx

Makoto studied his friend intently. It had been more than ten years since he had seen Bruce Wayne last. It wasn't that they had lost contact afterwards. Occasionally, Bruce (or a gentleman named 'Alfred Pennyworth') contacted him, exchanging news and asking him to make specific Japanese weapons to be shipped later to the United States (with a very generous price offered by the customer). To his memory, the Bruce Wayne he had seen years ago had been a restless young man, eager to make things right, to fight the demons in his city of birth, to the point of dismissing his personal needs.

Now, Makoto still detected the same passion for justice within Bruce. Yet, somehow, his agitation and anxiety had reduced to a non-lethal level. Makoto suspected that the lady Bruce brought with him today played a significant role in making him more relaxed. He found himself form an instant fondness for the azure-eyed lady.

The lady, as Bruce had introduced them earlier, was called 'Diana'. Now, she was talking with the excited Sachiko about something Makoto could not follow. _Must be a girl thing. _Then, Makoto saw her took off a sky blue silk ribbon from her chignon and give it to Sachiko. _Yeah. Definitely a girl thing._

"Arigato gozaimasu, Diana-san!" thrilled to have a new ribbon, Sachiko bowed deeply.

"Be careful when you're climbing the tree," Diana giggled. "You might lose the ribbon."

"Oh, but I won't! I won't be climbing trees anymore!" Sachiko had indeed just gone down a tree when she had met Bruce and Diana just now. "I will be very careful!"

"Yeah, right!" Makoto barked at the little girl. "Now, go! My friends and I have things to talk about. Not a thing for a little girl to hear!"

Sachiko stuck out her lower lip. "Whatever! I have got a new ribbon!"

She then bowed deeply to Bruce and (again) Diana, and darted out of sight.

Bruce shook his head. "What an active girl."

"You should see her when she's crying!" Makoto rolled his eyes. "You won't think you face the same girl."

"Your neighbor?" Diana's gaze still followed the little girl.

Makoto nodded. "_Hai_. Her mother died when she was five, leaving her with two little brothers and a father. Now she was the unofficial caretaker of her small family. Still, she had just the right spirit to move on."

"I see…" was Bruce's comment.

The bearded man turned to study his old friend again. "Bruce-san…she also receives the benefit of the generous funds you continuously supply me with. She's a bright student."

Diana arched her eyebrow, looking at Bruce. The man in question suddenly blushed, and turned away. She smiled. She was well versed with Bruce's philanthropic habit of disseminating education funds everywhere he could. She was not entirely taken by surprise to learn that this little Japanese village might be one of the receiving ends of the Wayne charity.

"Well, good to know that hope prevails," she heard him muttered.

Makoto smiled as well, wrinkling his already wrinkled eyes. Absentmindedly, he looked at the sky.

"Ah, we should go inside. It might rain soon."

"That would be nice," Diana followed suit. "We need the rain."

"Yes…indeed. It has been very humid, hasn't it?" Makoto walked next to her and switched to English. Surprisingly, his English was excellent. "And Diana-san…I have to say that your Japanese is very good."

To Bruce, the conversation between Makoto and Diana slowly faded away. He found himself walking alone a few steps behind. He did not mind, though. There were many times he was glad to walk alone, and this one was one of the times.

Bruce had known Makoto for more than fifteen years now. In fact, Makoto had been one of the first modern samurai he had encountered during his initial years in Japan. Back then, the young Bruce Wayne had come across many talented samurai, and learned a great many martial arts in the process. But only several of them had taken time to give the restless young man the true meaning of Bushido.

Makoto had been one of them. In addition to being a skilled samurai, Makoto had been an accomplished swordsmith. From him, Bruce had learned of several aspects of Bushido and The Way of the Sword. Forgiveness, included. Appropriate, because the swordsmith's name was literally translated as 'truth' or 'sincerity'.

Initially, Bruce had been reluctant to believe any of Makoto's advice. The Japanese samurai had been a swordsmith anyway, what right could he have to speak of forgiveness?

"Ah, but that is your mistake, Bruce-san," the swordsmith had argued. "You think that the greatest victory of a warrior is when he defeats his enemies. Yet, the true victory of any warrior would be when he could defeat his enemies without even drawing his sword."

The young Bruce had opened his mouth for counter argument to no avail.

"The greatest victory of a warrior –" Makoto had resumed. " – is when he could befriend his enemies without leaving his virtues behind."

Bruce had been stunned. "Then…why do you make swords?"

The swordsmith had smiled. "To remind myself that in order to achieve peace, my mind should be focused and sharp. And that I have to be flexible, able to adapt to any situation. Why do you think then, _katana_ is made slightly curved? And that one edge is sharp, the other one is dull?"

Despite his initial reluctance even just to listen to Makoto's words, the message had been imprinted into the mind of the young Wayne. Years later, his acquaintance with the simple swordsmith had helped him form his own code of conduct as the Batman. That is, he would choose to save everyone's life, even his enemies', as long as he could. And so far, he had not crossed the line.

xxx

"Bruce-san!"

Jolted from his thoughts, Bruce tilted his head to see that Makoto had escorted Diana into his workshop. Quickly, Bruce entered Makoto's small compound, without losing the opportunity of observing the surroundings.

Makoto's compound was a simple assemblage of a wooden house and a warehouse functioning as a small weapon factory, with a small water fountain and thickets of bamboo on the compound's small yard. Inside his sandalwood-scented warehouse, the swordsmith had seated figurines of Hachiman (Shinto God of War and divine protector of Japan) and Kuan Kong (Ancient Chinese God of War) next to Buddha and Kannon (Japanese Goddess of Mercy). Both Diana and Bruce found the contrasting deities very interesting.

From Bruce, Diana had learned that Makoto had not been an ordinary swordsmith. He screened out many sword-making orders into a limited numbers of orders per year, for a very limited circle of friends. He held the philosophy of many traditional swordsmiths, that sword making was a sacred ritual, and should be treated as such. As it was an art and a sacred ritual, it took him almost six months to make just a perfect _katana_ tailored suit for his customer's need.

"So, you were the expert behind Bruce's great swords?" Entering the swordsmith's workshop, Diana resumed her conversation with Makoto.

Placing the rattan casket on a small table, the old swordsmith smiled. "Hardly an expert, Diana-san. I just happened to love the art of sword making." The swordsmith glanced at the long wooden box Bruce carried. He smiled. "I take it that you need it sharpened, Bruce-san?"

"_Hai_." Bruce bowed and put his sword box on the main work table. Upon his gesture, Makoto slowly slid open the box, revealing a pair of bat-patterned _katana_ and _wakizashi_.

"I am pleased that you take care of them well," the old swordsmith took the black _katana_ and hefted it. "It is still in good condition. You didn't forget to apply clove oil on their blades. Good…good. It seems that…" he drew the sword from its scabbard and noticed several markings. " – you have just used it?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes. And the _wakizashi_ as well." _Last night, actually. Very interesting fights. _

"I assume you would not linger for a long time in this place. You have to leave it with me to finish it."

"That is understandable. Shall I leave you a check now? Or would you still prefer the regular procedure?"

Makoto put down the _katana_ respectfully and waved his hand leisurely. "You won't need to do that now. The regular procedure will do." Meaning that Bruce would transfer the (usually generous) payment to Makoto's account, in which the swordsmith rarely withdrew from anyway. The swordsmith disliked handling cash. He almost had everything he needed for his hermit life in the village.

"Excellent," Bruce agreed. "Because I need to ask your favor to make yet another pair of swords."

The swordsmith arched his thick gray eyebrow. "Is that so? You still need another pair?" He then glanced at Diana, who had been silently yet fascinatingly following their conversation. "Or…would the swords be made for the lady?"

Diana lifted her delicate eyebrow. She had not said a word of her being a warrior. Yet, Makoto had guessed correctly that the sword order was for her. Mentally, she checked if her silver vambraces were too obvious to see from behind her sleeves.

She heard the old man laugh quietly. "It is not hard to guess, Diana-san. Your gait, though graceful, is clearly a warrior's. Steady and sure, yet serene at the same time. I assume you do quite a bit of meditation?"

"Yes," she confirmed. Suddenly, the Japanese swordsmith reminded her of dear Io, her smith sister back in Paradise Island. Io would love to have a chat with him.

"Pardon me asking, Sir," she resumed. "Is it true that katana making is a long process? Not that I am impatient or so. It's just curiosity."

"And a very natural one, I should say." Makoto hefted Bruce's _wakizashi_ and smiled in satisfaction. "You see, we Japanese consider swords as our souls. Each _katana_, for instance, was made with careful considerations, suited for the characteristic and ability of the intended samurai. Ancient samurais were even easily provoked if someone touched their swords without their consent. It was truly a sacred extension of the soul itself that made Japanese swords, _katana_ especially, such a private entity for warriors."

"Hence, your asking approval from Bruce to examine his weapons," Diana concluded. "Even though you were his swordsmith."

"Exactly," Makoto seemed to be pleased with her comprehension. He made several slashing and stabbing movements with Bruce's _wakizashi_. "_Katana_ sharpening and polishing are complicated processes, as the swordsmith should take extra care not to taint the pattern of the blade. Among many other things."

"That is why he asked me to leave my swords with him," addressing Diana, Bruce joined the conversation. "He needs to sharpen and polish my soul, and it will take a considerable time."

Inexplicably, she almost cast a seducing leer to hear his confession. Yet, in a split second she was able to change her mood and nodded formally instead.

"As for the order for your swords –" Makoto returned the _wakizashi_ to its box reverently. "I assume you want a pair of _katana_ and _wakizashi_?"

"_Hai_." Despite her already sophisticated collection of armaments, the thought of having a pair of Japanese weapons thrilled her.

"What complexion would you prefer?"

She did not grasp his meaning. "Er…complexion?"

"The complexion of my swords is black," Bruce helped her. "They were made with higher composite of _martensite_ instead of pearlite; more carbon to make them harder. Somehow, Makoto-san had managed to produce black complexion. It suited…my mission."

Now, she understood. She assumed that Makoto did not know Bruce's true nocturnal activities. Instead, the swordsmith might assume that Bruce was actively involved in legal vigilante processes to safeguard his city. Makoto's choice of dark complexion of the swords somehow suited Batman's mission.

"Uh…I would say…not black?" she smiled apologetically.

"Silver complexion might suit her," Bruce deduced. "Silver of the moon, to shed a bit light to the darkness of the night." Very appropriate. He tilted his head at her and received her bright beam upon his exact consideration.

The subtle exchange did not escape Makoto's sharp eyes. He smiled knowingly. "And the _mon _for the _tsuka _and_ tsuba_? Would you…use the bat family crest?" _Nihonto_, or Japanese swords, are customarily adorned with a specific _mon_ or family crest on the _tsuka_ (hilt) and _tsuba_ (sword guard).

Smiling, Bruce shook his head. "I would say she prefers eagle."

Diana arched her eyebrow again. "You've thought it all over, haven't you?"

"Tactical move," he cast his irresistible leer and produced a piece of paper from his _hakama_. He gave the swordsmith the paper. "I drew some sketches of an eagle _mon_. But I am sure that Makoto-san has better designs in his mind."

The old swordsmith studied the sketch intently. After a moment of hesitation, Diana peeped as well. Those were indeed elaborate choices of eagle _mon_, drawn in Japanese strokes.

"Beautiful, Bruce-san," after a while, Makoto placed the note on the table. "I also have some in mind. I think we can combine our ideas to suit the lady's need."

Diana bowed. "Domo arigato, Makoto-san." She resumed. "I believe that there is more in _katana_ than meets the eye."

The old swordsmith smiled briefly. "Once, during the early shogun days, a great warrior named Yagyu Muneyori presented a single stem of chrysanthemum to several samurai. Only a _ronin_ named Miyamoto Musashi realized the magnitude of Yagyu's swordsmanship just by observing the flower."

She blinked, unable to catch the message.

"Musashi's keen observation had made him realize that the stem of such a delicate flower like chrysanthemum can only be cleanly cut in such precision and angle with a sharp weapon, administered by a very skillful swordsman. He was very interested then to challenge the old Yagyu." Makoto studied Bruce and Diana alternately. "Yagyu Muneyori had wielded his knife and used it to cut the flower off with ultimate accuracy."

"What an amazing warrior, Muneyori-san was," Diana said admirably.

Makoto nodded in agreement. "He said that swordsmanship was not an art of killing people. Instead, it was the art of exploring one's own personality and re-discovering one's inner self. That ultimately, the sword and the samurai would melt into one nothingness. Swordsmanship…is the Life itself."

Once again, with Bruce's permission, Makoto took out the black bat _katana_ and withdrew it from its _saya_ (scabbard). The intermittent afternoon sun peeking through the workshop's lattice windows reflected ethereal light upon the dark blade's _hamon_, the distinctive artistic pattern and the signature of the swordsmith adjusted for the warrior's need.

"_Katana_ is mainly a cutting weapon," explained the old swordsmith. "It is not designed to stab; you would use _wakizashi _or _tanto_, the dagger, for that." Diana nodded. She had seen the Batman, the Dark Samurai, in his splendor action with both his _katana_ and _wakizashi_. Makoto resumed, "_Katana_ existed to fill the need of a sharp cutting weapon that was resilient enough to survive battles."

Makoto swung the katana several times. "It is the perfect embodiment of natural balance. Yin and yang, borrowing the Chinese terminology. The soft and the hard. The feminine and the masculine."

She tilted her head in heightened interest. "How so?"

Without waver his gaze upon the sword, Makoto resumed his explanation. "Katana is only sharp in one edge. The other edge is dull. It is also curvilinear, instead of straight double-edge swords of the European style."

Bruce smirked, remembering one of the most important rhetoric questions Makoto had asked him during their first meeting, years ago. He remained still, folding his hands, watching his lover discussing the sword with his teacher.

And Diana replied, "I have been wondering why myself."

"Flexibility," the old swordsman swung the katana again. "Japanese swords were originated from Korea and China. Originally, the swords were straight and double-edged, the way most swords are. Then, around the 8th century, as the art of mounting horses and the annoying habit of war escalated, ancient samurai need to adjust the weapon to be as light as possible, yet still maintain its agility in cavalry combat. Also, now and then, a samurai would find a situation where his own sword was shoved against his neck. The said person would bade farewell to this world had he used a double edged sword. The single sharp edge of katana had protected many lives."

"Is that the sole reason for the single edge?" Diana further inquired.

Makoto smiled. "The ancient Japanese lacked of iron ore to make large quantity of swords. They had to manipulate their iron resources to its maximum capacity. They experienced and improvised. That's when _yin yang_ eventually entered. To achieve maximum strength, _katana_ should be made from _hagane_, hard steel. Yet, it has its flaw: its very own rigidity would make the sword brittle. To preserve the sword, flexibility is required. Hence, the use of _shigane_, soft steel, for resilience." He paused to let the message sink. "_Hagane_ for the sharp edge, _shigane_ for the dull core. Both have their own tactical functions as well as spiritual reminder."

A flash of awareness dawned on Diana's eyes. "Firm actions based on compassion."

Makoto showed her Bruce's _katana_. "_Hamon_, or the artistic pattern you see here, is the result of the union of hard and soft types of steel. The epitome of _katana _as a balance of yin and yang; embodied in a hard yet flexible sword." Respectfully, he traced a certain wavy region on the blade. "_Habuchi_ is the transition region between hard and soft."

"The gray areas," Diana commented.

The old swordsmith smiled, adding more wrinkles on his eyes. "Which sometimes is needed in life." Reverently, he sheathed Bruce's _katana_ into its scabbard and returned it to the box.

"Depends on the magnitude of the situation," she argued. "I would still say not all gray compromises are useful."

"As in?" this time, Bruce was the one to ask.

Diana pursed her lips. "I just think that there are several situations where you need to take firm actions to solve the problem. Though, it would never be my priority."

"What is the example?" Slowly closing the box lid, Makoto asked in heightened interest.

"Many of ancient Japanese samurai chose to eradicate their enemies, did they not?" Diana inquired. Makoto nodded to confirm. "Though I disagree with random killing, there are some circumstances where killing might be the most appropriate solution to end the problem. And I said 'appropriate', not 'best'."

"As in killing Suijiro," Bruce snorted. He and Diana had been in a heated discussion of whether or not Suijiro's life was worth preserving. Diana had stated that she would not kill Suijiro, unless it had been an unavoidable act of self defense. Bruce had been standing on his opinion that Masahiro's choice had been appropriate.

"You're talking about the downfall of the Godfather of Iwamura clan?" Makoto inquired. He had heard of the event in Ginza Park from the radio. It had been quite stunning news.

"Yes. We were…in the vicinity last night," Diana tried to explain. "I admire old Masahiro's choice of not killing Suijiro and left his son's fate to the court. Yet, if I was in the situation, and my circumstances would only allow me lethal self defense, I would choose to terminate Suijiro."

"Understandable," Makoto's comment surprised Bruce.

"I thought you do not kill?" he inquired of his teacher.

"I do not," the swordsmith folded his hands and faced his old student. "Yet, as Diana-san stated, there would be – and surely you would realize this by now – many situations where self defense required killing."

"That I understand," Bruce replied. "But I will not make that a priority. I would still try to find a way out."

"I would too, Bruce," Diana intercepted. "Don't get me wrong. I don't fancy killing. But if there is a situation that required me to do that, I'm ready to take such course of action. And I would do that with no hatred in my heart towards the person. I simply just do what should be done."

"Speaking like a true warrior," Makoto smiled. "And you, Bruce-san, is firmly standing on your non-lethal vigilante point of view."

Bruce sighed. He had known Diana's (or rather, Wonder Woman's) standing position on this matter a long time before they had been intimate. A part of him wondered why he had hoped that she would change her opinion. _Perhaps, because I want her to be like me._ Yet, in a split second, another thought came to him. _Do I really want her to be like me? _

"An interesting discourse," the old swordsmith resumed, seemingly unaffected by the heated arguments of the two lovers in front of him. Instead, he rather enjoyed himself in the situation. "With all due respect, I might not need to remind you two that agreement to disagree is also a part of mutual communication and understanding?"

Bruce grunted to realize the truth in Makoto's words. Diana nodded slowly. Then she smiled and muttered, more to herself. "We should have this conversation again, Bruce. But later. Not now."

"So it seems," Bruce growled.

Makoto chuckled. "With all her differences, she is indeed a pearl of wisdom, Bruce-san. Are you aware of her importance in your life?"

Diana arched her eyebrow. Yet, despite their very infrequent meetings, apparently Bruce was used to blatant exchanges with Makoto. To her surprise, the man in question tilted his head to her and smirked. "Yes, Makoto-san. I am keenly aware of her presence."

Makoto expelled a chortle. "Good. Very good! I shall make her beautiful swords to pair yours. In the meantime –" he strode towards a small wooden chest and opened it. He took out a set of weapons, each carefully wrapped in silk clothes, and placed them on the table.

"More than a month ago, I suddenly had an inspiration to make these. Now I think it would suit you, Diana-san." He unwrap the long weapon to reveal an exotic black _bokken_, wooden sword, inside. "Taken from sustainable African ebony plantation. Pretty good endurance, I should say."

Diana gasped to see the elegant jet black weapon. She could even detect excitement in Bruce's eyes.

"You have a _bokken_ already, Bruce-san," Makoto smiled teasingly. "This is for her. Also this." He unwrap the other weapon to expose a gorgeous silver-complexioned_ tanto_, small Japanese dagger.

"Black and white. Yin and yang. For her," he bowed and gave both weapons to Diana. " – to guard you, Bruce-san." Bruce smirked again.

"They're for me?" she bowed back and felt the excitement of a girl receiving two beautiful dolls at once. "Oh my…How much, if I may know?"

He chuckled. "For free. It's a gift."

"But Sir –"

"Diana-san," he interrupted gently. "I'm sure that your lover here would transfer me a generous amount of money anyway for polishing his swords and making you new ones. Giving you these weapons would surely compensate it?"

Realizing that he was speaking of raw facts, she conceded and smiled. She planned to transfer some money to Bruce later for these weapons. The three of them spent another half an hour surveying and give comments (or rather, praise) on Makoto's collection of ethereal scabbards.

Thunders already raged by the time Bruce and Diana bade the swordsmith farewell.

"Where do you stay? Do you carry umbrellas?" Despite his single life, Makoto always found himself attracted and compelled to bless certain couples. Including this one, the yin and yang couple. "It will rain soon, you'll get wet."

"In Zen Lotus Garden," Bruce answered. It was a lush compound of private bungalows, in a touristy village, one and a half hours slow drive from Makoto's rustic village.

"Ah. Then, I assume you bring car?"

"Sort of. We parked it on the outskirt of the village." Bruce didn't explain that the Batwing was theirs means of transportation.

If he was confused with Bruce's cryptic answer, Makoto did not show it. Instead, he smiled again and waved peacefully as the couple strolled back down the lane. The swordsmith looked at the cloudy sky. Just as well. It was time to cook the shiitake and various mushrooms he had collected just now. Sachiko and her friends would come for dinner to his house, and shiitake was a delicacy for them. Despite the possible rain, he still hoped that the children would come to accompany him.

xxx

The wind and rain was in full force by the time Diana and Bruce reached the door of their private bungalow. They had run through the green pathways of the small resort, greeted by some resort caretakers who had expressed their concerns over the soaking condition of their guests.

Diana opened the door and entered the peaceful ambience of their chalet. The fragrant scent of _jin-koh_, agarwood, filled the air. She took off her sandals and socks and stepped gingerly over the bamboo _tatami_ mat. Behind her, Bruce followed suit, water dripping from his wet _hakama_.

She seriously considered taking off her wet clothes and having a hot shower when she cast a glance at a small table where a set of tea cups and tea pot was served. "Would you like some tea?"

Shaking his wet head, he smiled, his eyes twinkled in amusement to see the wet figure of an Amazon Princess in a complete traditional Japanese clothing.

"...coffee?"

Another decline. This time, he gazed into her eyes with such depth of intensity, it made her literally tremble upon receiving _that_ look.

She licked her suddenly dried lips.

"...or...me?"

No smile at all. Instead, he looked at her with the hunger of a predator upon locating his target.

"You." His voice was harsh.

She parted her now wet cherry lips. He took her in his embrace and kissed her, feeling her heat from within, mixed with the dampness of their physical conditions. She sighed in ecstasy. Both of his hands slowly lowered her haori, revealing her plastered ivory kimono. He tossed her wet _haori_ away. He had to admit that the mixture of the scent of rain and her body on the kimono was overwhelming.

He touched a small part of her silk _nagajuban_, her underkimono, and felt her warrior body shudder upon his touch. He took out his hands to see her frustrated gaze. Smiling again, he brought his hands to her back, to undo her _obi-jime_ cord that securely held her _obi_ sash. There were hundreds of stylized bows to tie an _obi-jime_, and he was grateful that Diana's knot was a fairly simple one. It made his job of untying the _obi-jime_ much easier.

After undoing the cord, he slowly pulled away the _obi_ sash. He also took extra time to get rid of _obi-ita_ (_obi_ stay), _obi_ _makura_ pad, which supported the sash and maintained the kimono to be in straight line, and_ datejime_ (undersash). _Heh. She does need my help! _Yet, he resumed undressing her in no haste at all. In such times like this, he enjoyed watching her suffering.

Next was to remove the kimono itself. Slowly, with one hand supporting her back, he slid the kimono away. It was a beautiful ivory silk kimono, with embroidered colorful _koi_ fishes at the lower hem. Prior to departing to Makoto's village, he had taken her to Eiga this morning to buy the whole set of kimono and haori for her. He had watched the shop assistants (who no doubt had heard of Suijiro's capture) helping her with various kimonos. She had chosen the ivory one, plus an extra black silk kimono with embroidered silver moon and a golden dragon at the hem. Upon learning that their guests would head to Fujiyama, one of the shop assistants had handed her a sakura-patterned pink _haori_ for her outer jacket to protect her from the chilly air. Needless to say, once he had seen her in the full set of kimono, he had not been able to avert his gaze upon her.

_Very gorgeous, indeed. But now, their duties are over. _

He dropped the kimono on the floor and scrutinized her. Now, her quivering body was draped in a full-length silk _nagajuban_ and two more layers of underclothing. _Those will be out of duty soon. _Diana's body was shaking, her eyes were pleading, hardly able to maintain the effects of his torturing touches. Despite the rain outside, she felt her body under intolerable heat.

He cast his voracious smile again. "Princess…" She looked at him hopelessly. "Do you know an ancient story of a dragon and the communion with his primeval cave?"

"No," she shuddered under his intense gaze. _Hera! I hate him when he does that to me._

Another leer. "Would you like to know about it?"

"Can you tell me?" she whispered.

He did not answer. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders and lowered her gently to the _tatami_ floor. Then he murmured huskily, "I will not tell you, Princess. I will _show_ you."

Outside, the wind blew harder, accompanying the crying sky. The wind was so hard; it put out candle lights inside the bungalow. Soon, the shadows of two lovers in their primordial and spiritual communion fade away into the darkness.

-FIN-

_Author's note:_

_Finally, the end! Well, not really. I have the more detailed version of Bruce and Diana's date tonight, but I can't show it here because I have to abide by the current rating. Should any of you want to read the more detailed version, just email me, and I will send you the whole story (with the increased rating). _

_Sorry for taking so bloody long to finish the story; I have many things in between happening. Now, I can go and finish the next story-arc, Return of My Sister._

_Knowledge about the complicated kimono clothing is mostly derived from Takashi Matsuoka's 'Cloud of Sparrows' (2002). A very excellent book any Zen and Samurai addicted should read, I should say. Information about nihonto is also extracted from Matsuoka's book and other sources. Most notably was the 'Revised Proceedings of the Seminar on Japanese Swords' edited by Nicholas Taylor of the University of Cambridge' (2005)._


End file.
